Ghislaine Maxwell’s former Upper East Side townhouse is back on the market, listed for about $18 million. The 7,000-square-foot, five-story Beaux-Arts-style limestone and brick townhouse at 116 East 65th Street last changed hands in 2016 when Manhattan real estate investor Frederick Rudd bought it for $15 million, roughly $4 million under the asking price. Rudd, 70, died last year of complications from heart disease, and the property has returned to market with a price near its previous listing. Maxwell is known to have owned the townhouse from 2000 to 2016, though the current listing makes no reference to her ownership.
Douglas Elliman's listing describes the home as renovated and emphasizes the Beaux-Arts design and the tree-lined block on East 65th Street, one of Manhattan's most coveted. The five-story house spans about 7,000 square feet and includes high ceilings, two fireplaces and white oak flooring on the main floor, which is billed as ideal for entertaining. A separate staff entrance serves the home, and a 750-square-foot garden sits behind the building. The master suite occupies the entire third floor, with a corridor of closets leading to a serene bedroom, while the entire fourth floor is dedicated to guest bedrooms.
Over the years Maxwell hosted private dinners, cocktail parties and charity events at the townhouse. A 2013 Dom Perignon reception drew guests that included the president and first lady of Iceland, as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and actress Kelly Rutherford, according to coverage of the events.
The house’s association with Epstein goes back to 2000, when a lawyer for Epstein transferred the five-bedroom, six-bathroom townhouse to Maxwell. Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 and sentenced in June 2022 to 20 years in prison for trafficking young girls for Epstein to abuse. The current listing makes no reference to Maxwell’s past at the East 65th Street property, and Douglas Elliman declined to comment. The listing notes that Maxwell’s East 65th Street neighbors have included Bill Cosby and Rudy Giuliani.
The property’s design details extend beyond the public-facing spaces. The main floor features high ceilings and two fireplaces, while the upper levels offer private retreats and guest accommodations that reflect the home’s storied past on a block long associated with New York’s elite. The unique layout — a five-story town house with a private garden and a dedicated staff entrance — situates the property squarely in Manhattan’s luxury market, where buyers weigh architectural pedigree against a property’s controversial history.
The listing’s description references the home’s position on a coveted tree-lined street and alludes to its capacity for sophisticated entertaining, with spaces designed to host gatherings from private dinners to high-profile receptions. Yet the listing also leaves Maxwell’s name off the document trail, focusing on architectural details and renovations rather than the dwelling’s controversial past.
The timeline surrounding the property remains a part of a larger, continuing narrative around Maxwell and her associations, including the business and social circles she inhabited during her time in New York. The building’s sale history — from Maxwell’s era to its 2016 transfer to Rudd, and now its emergence again on the market — reflects broader interest in properties tied to notable figures, regardless of their owners’ legal or ethical histories. The 65th Street mansion encapsulates a confluence of luxury real estate, high-society events, and the enduring curiosity about the people connected to it.
