The island is approximately 165 acres (67 ha) in size,[1] and is located 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi) southeast of Saint Thomas.

[5] Family members of the Danish politician Christian Kjær [da] had owned Great Saint James since the late 1970s.

[6] Miami Dolphins player Jason Taylor purchased the island with assistance from real estate businessmen Robert Addie and Jorge M. Pérez in 2004.

However, a lawsuit exchange ensued and lasted until December 2013 when Taylor received "much but not all" of his down payment, as reported by the Miami Herald.

Bespoke Real Estate, the agency jointly overseeing the sale, stated that further information on the listing was only available to prospective buyers.

[6][9] In order to conceal his identity, Epstein made Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem the ultimate beneficial owner against his will and purchased Kjær's three parcels through his shell corporation Great St. Jim LLC, for US$17.5 million on January 18, 2016.

[3][6] He bought the rest of the island (twelve parcels totalling 81.22 acres (32.87 ha)) through the same LLC from GSJ Properties Corp. for US$5 million on January 21, 2016.

I still plan to pursue return of the entire $320,000 to the St. Thomas Historical Trust, and am awaiting the results of an investigation by the FBI before I take further action".

[1][14] He was subsequently accused of violating the order "by not removing a beach bar cabana and by expanding a driveway", according to The New York Times.

[4][1] DPNR Commissioner Jean-Pierre Oriol has said that Epstein could be fined over US$1 million for construction activity including "an excessive amount of additional roadways that have been carved out on the island, [for] there have been two jetties, fill material has been placed into the submerged lands, so there's evidence of work going beyond what was initially applied for.