In August 2025, as rumors about late financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein continued to swirl after the Trump administration failed to release Epstein's "client list" as promised, a claim that former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle had sold their Martha's Vineyard summer house to one of Epstein's money management clients, Leslie "Les" Wexner, began to circulate online.
For example, a post on Facebook said the couple had sold their house to Wexner for a "whopping $37 million" (archived):
The post had gained 1,200 reactions and nearly 200 shares. It did not mention or link to a source. Another one (archived) shared the claim, describing Wexner as "Epstein's sugar daddy." The rumor also appeared on X (archived), gaining 1 million views. Further, readers searched Snopes' site seeking to confirm the veracity of the claim.
However, the claim was false. It stemmed from a confusion between a house the Obamas rented for summer residence early in Obama's presidency and a house they bought a decade later on the opposite side of the Massachusetts island.
The house that sold, known as Blue Heron Farm, went on sale for $39 million in May 2025, according to reports and a now-expired real estate ad (archived). Snopes was able to confirm that the house sold on July 10, 2025, according to a deed registered with Dukes County. It sold for $2 million under the asking price at $37 million, according to separate sales records covering the different lots that are part of the property. It is in the town of Chilmark and faces Tisbury Great Pond.
The property did not belong to the Obamas, but to British architect Norman Foster and his wife, who'd owned it since 2011 and had made several improvements to the house and the land. While it is true that the Obamas summered there for the first three years of Obama's presidency, which we were able to confirm based on photographs in the reputable image bank Getty Images and local reports at the time, the Obamas never owned the property. They only rented it before the Fosters bought the property and removed it from the rental market.
Later in 2019, the Obamas acquired their own property 10 miles to the east in the town of Edgartown for $11.75 million. Snopes was able to verify the price using property cards. Listed as a trustee was James F. Reynolds, an old friend of the couple, according to several reports. Snopes reported on that acquisition in 2024. The last name Obama does not appear on property documents.
The Chilmark property sold to a trust tied to Wexner, founder of L Brands, which includes the lingerie brand Victoria's Secret. Wexner hired Epstein as his money manager and gave him power of attorney over his accounts. Indeed, we were able to confirm with the Massachusetts Land Property Records website that Matthew Zeiger had replaced Fain Hackney as the trustee for Blue Heron Farm Nominee Trust. Zeiger is based in New Albany, Ohio, a town where many of Wexner's operations are located and which he is credited with developing.