Jeffrey Epstein's New Mexico ranch listed for $27.5 million
Jul. 1—The sprawling Jeffrey Epstein Zorro Ranch near Stanley is "coming on the market" for $27.5 million, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The property is being listed by the Neil Lyon Group at Sotheby's International Realty Santa Fe. Broker Neil Lyon and associate broker Matt Desmond did not respond to calls from The New Mexican.
Epstein was the well-connected financier and convicted sex offender who reportedly committed suicide Aug. 10, 2019, in a Manhattan jail cell in New York City.
He left behind a 7,500-acre property in southern Santa Fe County, where he built a 26,700-square-foot mansion described in previous reports as twice as large as the next largest home in Santa Fe County. Epstein told Vanity Fair that Zorro Ranch made his Manhattan townhouse "look like a shack."
The price rivals Tom Ford's 20,662-acre Cerro Pelon Ranch in Galisteo, which was listed for $48 million and sold in December for an unknown amount to a buyer not yet revealed. Lyon represented the buyer in that transaction.
"I think they priced it right," said James Congdon, a Realtor at Santa Fe Properties. "I think it's appropriate. It could sell tomorrow or it could take four or five years like Tom Ford's ranch."
Epstein purchased the Zorro Ranch in 1993 from former Gov. Bruce King. Some of Epstein's alleged sexual escapades may have occurred at the ranch, published reports indicate.
The Wall Street Journal reports the proceeds from the sale will be used to compensate claimants and pay taxes and creditors. The Journal reported that the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program created in June 2020 has collected more than $140 million through sales of Epstein assets.
The main residence at Zorro Ranch is a three-level, four-bedroom structure with large indoor pool and gym, grand living room and library. The "exceptionally appointed kitchen [has] room for an entire cooking staff," according to the Sotheby's listing.
Near the ranch entrance is Ranch Central, a small village with 10 structures, including a seven-bay heated garage, the ranch office, a firehouse and the property's original adobe residence that has been expanded.
There is a two-bedroom Yellow House and three-bedroom Red House with square footages not listed and a 1,650-square-foot, two-bedroom Blue House with a tennis court that doubles as basketball court.
Zorro Ranch also has a three-bedroom lodge and off-the-grid log cabin as well as 4,400-foot airstrip with hangar and helipad.
