Credit: Academy of Achievement
One clothes rack at a time, he amassed his fortune, but he managed to let someone like Jeffrey Epstein handle everything. From Wall Street boardrooms to mall corridors, Les Wexner had spent years creating a flawless retail legacy. However, trust does not break silently when it is overextended.
He is renowned for simplifying women’s clothing to the necessities and selling them more astutely than anyone else in the early Limited stores. With the skill of a conductor, he created supply chains, increased margins, and carved out niches. His boutiques even had purposefully appealing lighting.
| Detail | Description |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Leslie Herbert Wexner |
| Born | September 8, 1937 (Dayton, Ohio, USA) |
| Notable Brands Founded | The Limited, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Express |
| Career Highlight | Served as CEO of L Brands for over five decades |
| Financial Ties to Epstein | Granted Jeffrey Epstein power of attorney and access to assets, including real estate |
| Resignation | Stepped down from L Brands in 2020 amidst scrutiny |
| Mansion Transfer | Transferred NYC townhouse later used by Epstein for abuse, reportedly for $0 |
| Legal Spotlight | Named in unsealed documents for enabling or facilitating Epstein’s activities |
| External Source | BrandSynario |
He turned brands that others had rejected into symbols of aspiration after seeing their potential. Once charming and underperforming, Victoria’s Secret rose to fame. Under his watchful eye, the packaging, the catalogs, the angels—all were synchronized.
However, the Epstein partnership is particularly worrisome because of the accuracy that made him famous.
Wexner gave Jeffrey Epstein what is now known as carte blanche in addition to financial power at some point in the 1990s. Epstein’s hold on power of attorney, real estate titles, money, and personnel was extraordinarily unbridled and abnormally wide.
Wexner appeared to turn over the keys without raising any red flags in a field where billionaires employ whole teams to say “no” on their behalf.
Betrayal, he later alleged. that Epstein invaded his life, replacing long-trusted advisors and embezzling money with the charm of a con artist. However, the extent of their financial and legal collaboration raises questions about how isolated or coincidental it was in reality.
It was Ohio, not Wall Street, that produced one of the most unsettling instances. Artist Maria Farmer claimed that while she was staying at Wexner’s residence to work on a project, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sexually abused her. According to reports, the estate’s security team stopped her attempts to depart.
It shouldn’t have taken a phone call to a faraway parent to escape from a house as secure as that one.
The story of an artist attempting to escape a location that appeared to be safe on the outside but contained a dark element inside really got to me.
The $100 million Epstein eventually gave Wexner as reparations is frequently mentioned by his attorneys. The optics of the sale, however, are strange. The majority of robbers do not offer their victims nine-figure compensation. And most definitely not after giving them unrestricted access for years.
The pointless transfer of a townhouse in New York to Epstein is as perplexing. Later on, Epstein’s abuse of that same townhouse would make it notorious. The gift defies corporate sense. It is not reasonable under any estate planning standard.
His well-crafted explanations frequently fall just short of taking responsibility. “I sincerely regret ever having met Jeffrey Epstein.” It is always expressed in a passive manner. seldom ever with specificity.
This year’s unsealed documents are now located Wexner is part of Epstein’s infrastructure as well as his orbit. Long after Wexner claimed to have cut connections, there exist emails that imply intimacy. monetary flows that did not stop as anticipated.
Notably, victims continue to bring him up.
Public relations comments and resignation letters don’t change that part—the way survivors continue to call him by name.
In 2020, he resigned from L Brands. declared his desire to let the next generation take the lead. Since then, Victoria’s Secret has made an effort to reimagine itself by moving away from the masculine gaze and toward female empowerment. However, the shadow persists.
To be clear, Wexner is not facing any criminal charges. However, scrutiny is rarely legalistic, especially in the court of public trust.
In the past, he was respected for his systematic and remarkably clear-eyed approach, especially during times of fear. But for some reason, the picture became hazy when it came to Epstein.
Was it awe? Manipulation? Denial?
Hard to say.
However, the amount of power that one man granted to another, without justification, is remarkably consistent across all of the accounts.
The same man who favored velvet rope and every store smell also ignored or did nothing in response to warnings.
And no document release will provide a comprehensive response to that query. Les Wexner was a master of control; why did he lose control when it counted?
That quiet has only gotten louder, especially in the last few weeks.