This place will need a very good cleaning.
The mysterious buyer who took Jeffrey Epstein’s luxurious mansion on the Upper East Side to earn $ 51 million is a former Goldman Sachs executive who moves to New York from London and plans to live in the house with the his wife.
Michael D. Daffey bought the seven-story, 40-room property at 9 East 71st Street, well below its starting price of $ 88 million, and is determined to make sure there are no traces left.
“They are planning a complete reform, physically and spiritually,” a source said.
The Australian native recently retired from the major financial company after spending last year as chairman of Goldman’s global markets tasked with reshaping trade in Europe after Brexit, and also after killing Bitcoin.
“Mr. Daffey had never been to his home or ever met his owner, but he is a great believer in the future of New York and will take the other side of all the people who say the best days in town could be in the past “. said Stu Loeser, a spokesman for Daffey.
The best brokers tell The Post that the price is a theft, as any similar Manhattan property that had no connection to one of America’s most twisted sex offenders could easily have grossed $ 100 million.
“I think it’s half the discount,” said Dolly Lenz, a senior broker, who had been among those trying to sell the property. “It’s 28,000 square feet. That’s less than $ 4,000 per foot for the most magnificent mansion on the best block, next to Fifth Avenue. It’s the best in New York. “
Even such an agreement was difficult to tempt many who could afford this price range.
“We offered it to a lot of people who said,‘ We don’t want to go near this place, ’” Lenz said. “Luxury international people who always have a deal said ‘No way.'”
Sources say none of Epstein’s former possessions are in the house.
“The house was completely empty,” a source said. “There was nothing strange and creepy about it.”
Another source said Daffey bought it with cash and a bridge loan.
Adam Modlin of the Modlin Group replaced both Daffey and Epstein Estate as a broker.
Lenz thought Daffey made a good decision to buy the property.
“I think he made a smart move, but it will be a long time before people forget that it was a place where children were abused,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. That’s what some people do. ”
The money will go directly to a Jeffrey Epstein Victims Restitution Fund, which is controlled by Epstein’s property.
In 2019, Epstein was found dead in the prison cell awaiting trial for sex crimes that abused girls as young as 14 years old. Epstein pleaded not guilty. During an FBI raid, federal agents found images of child sexual abuse in the mansion’s safe. The 40-room house is one of the largest in the city.
Epstein and his alleged partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, infamously entertained the rich, royal, and powerful of the house, which was connected to secretly record their guests.
Some who spent the night included Prince Andrew. The mansion was previously owned by Epstein’s client, the owner of Victoria’s Secret, Les Wexner.
The sale was halted by an asset freeze petition filed in the U.S. Virgin Islands by more than two dozen alleged victims and Denise George, the U.S. Virgin Islands attorney general last month, after the Epstein Victims Compensation Program said it would stop compensation claims. for funding issues.
A judge overturned the application. So far, the fund has received more than 150 requests from alleged victims since it was launched last June, paying so far $ 55 million to an undisclosed number of victims, according to reports.