It also helps to consider what’s on the market. “You’ve got plenty of islands up in the Bahamas, and when you have lots of availability, prices will be slightly more muted,” says Childs. “Whereas in the BVI [British Virgin Islands] we’ve got nothing available, and in the U.S. Virgin Islands there’s very little available.”
And therein lies the problem with putting a valuation on the two St. Jameses, which are just off the coast of St. Thomas: There really isn’t that much to compare them to, at least not publicly.
One nearby, undeveloped 230-acre island off the coast of St. Thomas, Thatch Cay, is listed for an undisclosed price, though in 2019 the Virgin Islands Daily News reported that it had been cut from $27.5 million to $19.5 million. An undeveloped, 29-acre plot of land on St. Croix, which is also part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, is listed for $2.75 million.
Bailey cites the 2014 sale of the 55-acre Little Thatch Island, in the British Virgin Islands, which he says sold for $55 million. “That’s a million dollars an acre,” he says. “I think it makes the Jameses look like an excellent buy.” Epstein’s islands are priced at $543,000 per acre.
On Epstein’s Islands
And what, exactly, would someone be getting for their money? Little St. James has a main compound, four guest villas, three private beaches, two pools, a helipad, and a private dock, according to its listing on the Modlin Group’s website. Video shows a topography largely cleared of vegetation, with carefully placed hedges and palm trees to shield terraces and pools from prying eyes.
Great St. James is effectively untouched, with only a small cluster of buildings visible from satellite imagery. Roads crisscross lush hills, leading down to islets and yet more beaches. One side of the island, closer to St. Thomas, contains a cove that’s a popular mooring site for pleasure boats. “The side that looks over St. Thomas has a very nice bay, but it’s very busy, so it’s a slight issue to do with privacy on one side,” Childs says. The other side, facing Little St. James, he adds, is much more secluded.
Other Options
Although no two islands are exactly alike, a cursory comparison of others available in the Caribbean offers a variety of much cheaper options.
The Bahamas’ 40-acre Little Whale Cay has its own landing strip, deep-water marina, main house, and two guesthouses as well as, among other things, a private lake stocked with flamingos, according to offering materials. Its price: $35 million.
Cave Cay, also in the Bahamas, is designed (though not fully completed) as a private resort. The island covers 220 acres, and its current infrastructure includes a deep-water harbor with 35 dock slips, a 2,800-foot private landing strip, and a cluster of houses and maintenance buildings, along with its own solar panels, desalination facility, and water storage. It’s on the market for $55 million.
But those islands are in the Bahamas. There are no major developed Caribbean islands, brokers say, currently for sale under the U.S. flag.
“As far as I’m aware, there’s nothing else available you can go out and buy,” Childs says. “Somebody won’t care and say, ‘That’s what I want. Everyone will have forgotten about [Epstein] in five years’ time.’” But, he continues, “until you go to market, you don’t really know.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.