This place will need a very good cleaning.
The mysterious buyer who built Jeffrey Epstein’s luxurious mansion on the Upper East Side for a $ 51 million deal is a former Goldman Sachs executive who moves to New York from London and plans to live in the house with his wife.
Michael D. Daffey bought the seven-story, 40-room property at 9 East 71st Street, well below the original asking price of $ 88 million – and is determined to make sure no trace of his former remains. twisted owner.
“He is planning a complete exchange, both physical and spiritual,” said a source.
The Australian native recently retired from the big financial firm after spending last year as chairman of global markets Goldman tasked with reshaping trade in Europe after Brexit – and also after killing in Bitcoin.
“Sir. Daffey had never been home and never met his landlord, 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 said Stu Loeser, a spokesman for Daffey.
Top brokers tell The Post that the price is a theft, given that any similar property in Manhattan that had nothing to do with one of America’s most injured sex offenders could easily have made $ 100 million.
“I think it’s halfway,” said top broker Dolly Lenz, who had been among those trying to sell the property. “It has 28,000 square meters. It’s less than $ 4,000 per foot for the most magnificent mansion on the best block, just off Fifth Avenue. It’s the best in New York. ”
Even such a business has been 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 get close to that place,'” Lenz said. “Fantastic international people who are always looking for a deal have said, ‘Never.'”
Sources say none of Epstein’s old possessions are in the house.
“The house was completely empty,” said a source. “There were no strange and creepy things at all.”
Another source said Daffey bought it with cash and a bridge loan.
Adam Modlin, from the Modlin group, took over both the broker Daffey and Epstein Estate.
Lenz thought Daffey had made a good purchase decision.
“I think he made a smart move, however, it will be a long time before people forget that it was a place where children were abused,” she said. “It simply came to our notice then. That’s what some people do. ”
The money goes directly to a Jeffrey Epstein Victims Restitution Fund, which is controlled by Epstein’s estate.
In 2019, Epstein was found dead in his prison cell pending trial for sexually abusing girls up to 14 years old. Epstein pleaded not guilty. During an FBI raid, federal agents found images of sexual abuse of children in the mansion safe. The 40-room house is one of the largest in the city.
Epstein and his alleged partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, entertained the rich, royal and powerful at home, who were connected to secretly register their guests.
Some who stayed overnight 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 a request to freeze assets made in the US Virgin Islands by more than two dozen alleged victims and by Denise George, the US Attorney General of the US Virgin Islands last month, after the Epstein Victims Compensation Program said it would stop compensation offers on financing issues.
A judge rejected the request. The fund has so far received more than 150 requests from alleged victims since it was launched in June last year, paying $ 55 million so far to an undisclosed number of victims, according to reports.