Jeffrey Epstein Named Co-Trustee After Heiress Placed $24M Vail Chalet In Trust

Records show that Elizabeth Ross “Libet” Johnson — a Johnson & Johnson heiress — transferred the deed for her $24 million Vail, Colorado, ski chalet into a revocable trust in 1998 and named financier Jeffrey Epstein as a co-trustee.

The notarized warranty deed, dated Aug. 26, 1998, records that the property was placed into "The Elizabeth Ross Johnson Amended and Restated Revocable Trust," which had been formed only months earlier, in May 1998. The deed lists two trustees: Johnson and her then-financial adviser, Jeffrey Epstein. The document explicitly granted Epstein the authority to "convey, encumber, lease or otherwise deal with interest," and it required a new affidavit to be recorded whenever trustees or joint-venture members changed.

Johnson, a descendant of Robert Wood Johnson — one of the founding brothers of Johnson & Johnson — was among the wealthiest women in the U.S. and generally avoided publicity. Reporting suggests she and Epstein likely moved in overlapping social circles; they may have been introduced through Johnson’s then-boyfriend, celebrity hairstylist Frederic Fekkai, who was known to associate with Epstein. The arrangement echoes an earlier transaction in which L Brands founder Les Wexner put a New York property into a trust and named Epstein a trustee.

Rose Hartman/GettyElizabeth Ross Johnson and Frederic Fekkai in 2000

Although the trust language noted that the estate would pass to Johnson’s heirs, title did not change publicly until 2020. Johnson died in 2016; Epstein died in 2019. In 2020 the trust sold the Vail chalet, and the affidavit of sale was signed by Annabel Teal, identified in public records as one of Johnson’s five children and acting as trustee for the disposition. Public records reviewed do not make clear whether any proceeds from the sale were paid to Epstein’s estate or to his brother, Mark Epstein.

The chalet, built in 1996 and marketed by Sotheby’s when it was listed for sale in 2020, was described as a luxury mountain retreat. The property comfortably sleeps up to 18 people, offers seven en-suite bedrooms, direct access to two nearby ski areas, a ski locker room, a four-season indoor pool and a sauna.

Key Dates: Trust Created: May 1998. Deed Recorded: Aug. 26, 1998. Johnson Died: 2016. Epstein Died: 2019. Property Sold: 2020.

This sequence of transfers and the naming of Epstein as a trustee echo other high-profile financial relationships he maintained and raise questions about how trust powers were used — questions that remain partly unanswered in public records for this specific property.