Land Commissioners outside of Santa Fe are working to determine what will become of Jeffrey Epstein’s $27.5M New Mexico ranch following his arrest and subsequent suicide in 2019.
Known as the Zorro Ranch, the 33,339 square-foot mansion is located just outside of Santa Fe on a 10,000-acre compound that has remained virtually untouched since Epstein was arrested on federal charges for sex trafficking of minors in two states, according to KRQE.
“One can only speculate and I have to tell you [Gabrielle], that my staff … you know this has been a difficult topic for us to tackle," said Stephanie Garcia Richard, the New Mexico State Land Commissioner when asked what the land was used for. “Thinking about what state land might have been used for has been you know, has been difficult.”
Only a few months after his arrest and death, Garcia Richard canceled Epstein’s lease agreement to use 1,300 acres of land for cattle grazing on the grounds of the charges brought against Epstein. Now, land commissioners are still debating what to do with the ranch, regardless of its history.
“We want to encourage a ranching family to use it, we want to encourage rec access to the area,” Garcia Richard told the station. “We’ve even talked about some type of memorial site to just recognize what young girls and women went through in this area and on state land.”
The ranch is being sold for around $27.5 million, and an attorney for the Epstein estate said there have already been a few buyers interested in purchasing the compound.