The Secrets Of Jeffrey Epstein's NYC Townhouse

The following article contains references to sexual abuse.

It's a bit unclear how the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was able to obtain his famous Manhattan townhouse from Victoria's Secret Chief Executive Leslie Wexner for practically nothing. According to The New York Times, in 1998, Wexner signed over his townhouse (roughly valued at $100 million today) to Epstein. Some reports, such as the Daily Mail, claim he reportedly only paid Wexner $1, while others state that he paid around $20 million dollars — a large difference! 

It seems like no one will ever know the truth as there are no public records or filings — just another conspiracy to add to Epstein's troubled past. The gorgeous seven-story townhouse on East 71st street (between 5th and Madison Avenue) belonged to Jeffrey Epstein, until he went to prison in 2019 for sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking (via CNN). It was originally listed at $88 million dollars in 2020; however, it was purchased by former Goldman Sachs banker Michael Daffey for $50 million in 2021, which went to a fund for Epstein's many victims.

Daffey's spokesperson Stu Loeser told the New York Post, "The physical and spiritual rehab of 9 E 71 St. is well underway, but it's going to take a long time to restore its grandeur from before the Epstein era. When we're done, it promises to be a home like no other in New York." Let's hope so — this townhouse gives everyone the creeps.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Jeffrey Epstein had many famous friends, but there was one friend in particular who really made the wall of "shame" — former POTUS Bill Clinton. An oil painting of Clinton dressed in drag was displayed in plain sight at the residence. "It was hanging up there prominently — as soon as you walked in — in a room to the right," according to a source that dished the details to the New York Post. "Everybody who saw it laughed and smirked."

In the painting by New York based artist Petrina Ryan-Kleid, Clinton was sporting a blue dress and red heels, paying tribute to the infamous affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky (she famously sported the blue dress in their Oval Office tryst). According to the New York Post, the oil painting is called "Parsing Bill." Saatchi Art, an online art gallery, describes it as an "oil on canvas," with copies of the painting only costing $120. The particular painting inside Epstein's townhouse appeared to be the exact same size as the one on the Saatchi Art website, insiders told The New York Post. Does Hilary know about this?!

The NYPD first raided Jeffrey Epstein's residence in July of 2019, and what they found was incredibly disturbing. Per the New York Post, law enforcement found multiple plastic bins filled with hard drives, plus a safe that contained jewelry, passports, cash, more hard drives, and binders stuffed with CDs. According to the New York Post, some of the CDs contained underage pornography, with hand-written labels including the following — "Young [Name] + [Name]," "Misc nudes 1," and "Girl pics nude." Additionally, there were thousands of nude photographs of underage girls. An interesting side note: the New York Post recalled a statement made by Epstein in 2011, when he tried to downplay his already tarnished reputation. "I'm not a sexual predator, I'm an 'offender,'" he said. "It's the difference between a murderer and a person who steals a bagel."

As Insider reported, rumors also swirled that former US President Donald Trump was once accused of raping a 13-year-old Jane Doe at Epstein's Manhattan residence, but the case was soon dismissed. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff claimed that she was promised money and a modeling career to attend a series of parties at Epstein's Manhattan residence. Trump was also said to have attended at least four of the same parties, and to have been aware that the Jane Doe was only 13-years-old.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

If the painting of Bill Clinton in a blue dress makes you cringe, the rest of the decor in Jeffrey Epstein's former townhouse is certainly not going to make the Upper East Side abode any less creepy. As Vanity Fair reported, the entry of the townhouse had rows of "individually framed eyeballs," of which Epstein explained they were imported from Europe and "made for injured soldiers." The Cut also observed that there was a naked female doll hanging on the chandelier, plus a stuffed black poodle on top of his piano, per Vanity Fair. "No decorator would ever tell you to do that," Epstein explained to magazine. "But I want people to think what it means to stuff a dog." He seemed to be a fan of taxidermy, as it was also said that he owned a stuffed giraffe as well as a tiger. Gross.

If that wasn't strange enough, according to The New York Times, an Epstein accuser stated that there were prosthetic breasts in the master bathroom, hanging over the bathtub mounted on the wall, so he could "look at or play with while in the bathtub."  There was also an incredibly bizarre painting on the second floor, of Epstein behind barbed wire and between a guard station and a corrections officer — perhaps a glimpse into his future?

Money was clearly not an issue for Epstein as he even went as far as getting his sidewalks heated to ensure that snow would melt faster (via The Cut).

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell (currently in prison for acting as Epstein's "madam," recruiting his underage victims), spent a significant amount of time together at the notorious townhouse — but Maxwell didn't actually live here. She lived a few blocks away at 116 East 65th Street, which she sold in 2016 for $15 million dollars, despite the bad karma that spoiled the property because of the allegations against her, per American Luxury. She purchased the property in 2000 for $4.95 million dollars (via Curbed New York).

According to American Luxury, the home is 20 feet wide, and was completed during the years before WWI with five floors serviced by an elevator with a four-person limit. The townhouse also has a gorgeous garden that can be accessed through the sun room off the kitchen — and Manhattanites know how valuable an outdoor space is. Both Maxwell and Epstein lived in the lap of luxury, before they were finally exposed for their heinous acts.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

Although it's not widely known, there is some interesting history behind the seven-story property Jeffrey Epstein once lived in. According to the Daily Mail, it was originally built in the early 1930s for Herbert Strauss, whose parents died on the Titanic. It was also reported that Strauss was an heir to the Macy's fortune; so money was not an issue when it came to upgrading his new home. He hired famed Gilded Age architect Horace Trumbauer to design the townhouse and even bought furniture, antiques, and other design items from Europe. Sadly, Strauss never got to see the completed version of the home as he died of a heart attack in 1933, before he could ever move in.

Another notable purchase of the property occurred in the 1960s by the Birch Wathen School, an upscale day school for boys and girls from kindergarten to grade 12 (via Habitually Chic). The school would stay at 9 East 71st Street for over two decades before moving uptown to 210 East 77^th Street and becoming the Birch Wathen Lenox School. The Epstein residence was once a school – let that sink in.

In 2020, Forbes reported that the 28,000-square-foot Manhattan townhouse is one of the largest single-family homes in New York City, boasting an incredible seven stories. When it was first listed at $88 million, it could have broken the record as the largest townhouse sale in NYC history, according to The New York Times; alas the property was finally sold at $50 million, considering that perhaps it was tainted with the sick stench of the crimes committed inside (via The Wall Street Journal). The listing broker of the home was Adam Modlin (of the Modlin Group), who did not provide the media with a comment before or after the sale of 9 East 71st.

"It's very reasonable for one of the most prime locations and private residences in New York City," said Donna Olshan, a Manhattan real estate broker, to Realtor.com, after the sale in 2021. "It sounds crazy because the numbers are so big... the buyer got a very good deal. Buyers for this kind of property are going to put their stamp on it. They're going to make it their headquarters or home, and all traces of Jeffrey Epstein and his notorious behavior will [be] eradicated."

In August of 2022, a gut renovation finally began on Jeffrey Epstein's former Manhattan residence, instructed by new owner Michael Daffey (the former chairman of Goldman's Global Markets Division). Bloomberg reported that Daffey received a $30 million dollar loan from Citigroup Inc. in order to secure the sale and renovation of the property. Per the Daily Mail, the work being done is described as the "renovation of an existing single-family dwelling" and that no add-ons will be made along the makeover of the space.

The part that doesn't add up? The building permits attached to the home, show that they expire at the end of 2022 — and there is a lot of work to be done. "They are planning a complete makeover, physically and spiritually," a source close to Daffey told the New York Post, noting that the former chairman was set on eradicating any memory of the horrific events that occurred in the mansion. With all of Epstein's former possessions cleared out of the townhouse, the insider added, "There was no creepy weird stuff in it at all."

Top broker Dolly Lenz, who was initially involved with attempting to sell the property, praised Daffey's decision to buy it, telling the New York Post, "I think he made a smart move, however, it will be a long time before people forget it was a place were children were abused. But he's betting on it long-term. That's what some people do."

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.