Forget the island: Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse crazy details
Jeffrey Epstein kept a Manhattan townhouse that matched the island in notoriety once investigators started cataloging its rooms. The seven-story residence at 9 East 71st Street became another focal point after the July 2019 raid, and its documented features continue to surface in court records and later reporting.
The house’s origins
Architect Horace Trumbauer designed the building for Herbert N. Straus, heir to the Macy’s fortune. Construction started in 1930 on a fifty-foot-wide footprint that eventually reached seven stories and forty rooms. Straus died before the project finished, and the family left the shell vacant until 1944. Straus’s sons later gave the property to the Archdiocese of New York, which used it as a convalescent home for returning soldiers. The building served as a school beginning in 1962. Les Wexner bought it in 1989 for $13.2 million and later sold it in 1998 through a corporation for an appraised value of roughly $20 million, paid in installments. Property records and Wexner’s own statements confirm the transaction was a sale rather than a gift. Epstein’s entity took formal title around 2011.
Wexner-Epstein Property Transaction Clarified
Public statements from Wexner and deed records contradict earlier claims that the townhouse transferred for zero dollars. Wexner bought the property in 1989 for $13.2 million, then sold it in 1998 via a corporate entity for approximately $20 million in staged payments. He later described the deal as a straightforward purchase during congressional testimony. The corrected timeline removes the notion of an outright transfer and aligns with documented appraisals and bank records.
Eclectic taste
Epstein’s interior choices diverged sharply from Wexner’s. The entrance hall displayed rows of individually framed glass eyeballs imported from England. His study featured photographs of Bill Clinton, Woody Allen, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A life-sized female doll hung from a chandelier. A custom chess set placed Epstein’s staff as suggestive figurines on the board. Taxidermy pieces included a tiger, a poodle, and a giraffe. A sculpture of a woman in a wedding dress hung near the staircase, confirmed in 2025 photographs released from the property.
Additional Confirmed Interior Artifacts
Recent photo releases from 2025 added detail to earlier descriptions. The tiger, poodle, and giraffe taxidermy pieces matched visitor accounts. The hanging figure proved to be a sculpture dressed in a wedding gown. The chess set remained consistent with staff figures in provocative poses. These items, captured in archival and later documentation, reinforced the documented eccentricities of the residence.
Art connoisseur
Epstein displayed several notable paintings. One visitor described a Kees van Dongen work titled “Femme Fatale,” showing a woman cupping her exposed left breast. After his 2008 jail term, Epstein commissioned a photorealistic mural of a prison yard complete with barbed wire and corrections officers, placing himself at the center. He told the Times the mural served as a reminder that “there is always the possibility that could be me again.” Near the entrance hung another portrait: “Parsing Bill,” painted in 2012 by Australian artist Petrina Ryan-Kleid while she was a student. It depicts Bill Clinton wearing a blue dress and red heels.
The Clinton Painting: Parsing Bill
The portrait known as “Parsing Bill” was created in 2012 by Petrina Ryan-Kleid as student work. It shows Clinton in a blue dress and red heels and was positioned near the entrance hall. The painting’s presence alongside the van Dongen piece and the prison mural completed a deliberate sequence of imagery that greeted visitors.
Den of sin
During the 2019 raid, investigators recovered thousands of sexually suggestive photographs of nude or partially clothed women. They also found more than 300 CDs, some labeled with references such as “girl pics nude.” A room contained a massage table stocked with sex toys and lubricant. The house figured prominently in later indictments. Proceeds from the property’s March 2021 sale for $51 million went to the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program. The buyer, former Goldman Sachs executive Michael Daffey, completed a renovation by 2025 that included wall alterations and interior updates. The residence has since hosted private events.
Post-Epstein Ownership and Renovation
Michael Daffey purchased the townhouse in March 2021 for $51 million, with proceeds directed to the victims’ fund. Renovation work finished in 2025 and addressed structural and cosmetic updates throughout the interior. By late 2025 the property had already hosted events, marking a clear shift from its prior documented use.
The documented history of 9 East 71st Street now spans from its 1930s origins through multiple institutional uses, a documented commercial sale in 1998, Epstein’s occupancy, the 2019 raid, and the 2021 transfer to new ownership. Each verified detail adds another layer to the public record of the property without reliance on speculation about future uses.
