How Victoria's Secret head Les Wexner went from small-town Ohio shopkeeper to facing scrutiny for his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

Shoshy Ciment

Jul 27, 2019, 20:15 IST

How Victoria's Secret head Les Wexner went from small-town Ohio shopkeeper to facing scrutiny for his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

Nicholas Hunt/Getty

L Brands' Les Wexner is one of America's longest-serving CEOs.

Les Wexner is the CEO and founder of L Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret.
Recently the billionaire has come under scrutiny for his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was arrested and charged with sex trafficking earlier this month.
Though Wexner expressed regret for having worked with Epstein, the two reportedly had a close relationship in the early 2000s. The former financier once tried to gift the CEO with a $339,000 portrait, which sparked a 2002 lawsuit that described the two as "close personal friends."
Former L Brands executives told The Wall Street Journal that Epstein also tried to meddle in the selection of Victoria's Secret models.
L Brands recently hired an outside law firm to review the company's relationship with Epstein.
Here's the story of Wexner's rise from a small business owner to a billionaire CEO - and his complicated relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
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Les Wexner is the founder and CEO of L Brands, the company that owns Victoria's Secret.

With an estimated net worth of $4.7 billion, he is one of America's longest-serving CEOs, according to Forbes.

Recently Wexner has come under scrutiny for his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his former financial advisor. The two were described as "close personal friends" in a 2002 lawsuit.

Wexner's relationship with Epstein was deep-rooted and problematic, a Wall Street Journal report said. Throughout the two-decades-long relationship, Wexner reportedly paid Epstein millions of dollars in fees and involved the financier in his family matters.

Epstein also reportedly meddled in the model selection process for Victoria's Secret, The New York Times reported. Though Wexner has said he regrets any association with Epstein, the two have an entangled past. The question of Wexner's relationship with Epstein has been heightened in the wake of Epstein's sex-trafficking charges.

Wexner wasn't always a billionaire, however. He was born in Dayton, Ohio, to Russian immigrants, attended The Ohio State University, and served in the Air National Guard. He then went to work in his parents' business, a small store called Leslie's, starting him on the path to retail.

This is the story of how Wexner went from his first serious go at retail with The Limited to his leap to billionaire CEO of L Brands - and ultimately to his entanglement with Epstein:

Leslie "Les" Wexner was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1937 to Russian immigrants. Wexner attended The Ohio State University and served in the Air National Guard. He then went to work in his parents' business, a small store called Leslie's.

In 2013, Wexner donated $100 million to his alma mater. He would serve on the university's Board of Trustees for two terms throughout his life.

Though Wexner initially planned to pursue a career in law, he decided to enter the field of fashion retail. In 1963, he took a $5,000 loan from his aunt to open his own store called The Limited, which focused on selling only a few types of inexpensive clothing and competed with his parents' store.

Wexner made $20,000 in profit in his first year running the store. In the next decade, Wexner opened 41 stores, and he was selling $26 million worth of merchandise by 1973. He decided to focus on the female customer and launched Express in 1980.

In 1982, Wexner became interested in a small lingerie chain, Victoria's Secret. He bought the failing chain of San Francisco shops for $1 million and began to revitalize the chain into what it is today.

Victoria's Secret was soaring by the early 1990s. It had over 350 stores, and its sales were more than $1 billion.

In the 1980s, Wexner was looking to expand his interests beyond retail. He was specifically interested in developing luxury homes in New Albany, Ohio. He bought land for his own mansion there in the late 1980s and eventually designed the entire 10,000-acre town through his development firm, The New Albany Co.

In the mid-to-late-1980s, a mutual acquaintance introduced Wexner to Jeffrey Epstein, a financial advisor, to assist Wexner in his new business ventures. After they met, the two reportedly began to spend a lot of time together.

Wexner married Abigail S. Koppel on January 23, 1993 in New Albany. Koppel, a lawyer, graduated from Barnard College and New York University's law school. By this time, Epstein was already enmeshed in Wexner's personal and financial affairs, according to The New York Times.

In July 1991, Wexner signed a document that gave Epstein power of attorney, which granted Epstein the "full power and authority to do and perform every act necessary” on behalf of Wexner, The New York Times reported.

Over the next 16 years, Epstein proceeded to meddle in various aspects of Wexner's business and personal affairs. In these years, Epstein acquired mansions in New York and Ohio, as well as a private plane that had been owned by Wexner or his companies previously. Wexner is one of Epstein's only known clients.

In 2002, Epstein attempted to give Wexner a $339,000 portrait — a move that led to a lawsuit. In the lawsuit over payment for the painting, between Epstein and the artist, Wexner and his wife were described as Epstein's "clients and close personal friends."

In 2018, Wexner began to vocalize criticism against President Donald Trump. In January of that year, Wexner criticized the president's rhetoric on immigration via an online video.

Eventually, Wexner announced he no longer considered himself a Republican, claiming he had experienced enough of the "nonsense" of that party.

Meanwhile, Victoria's Secret has been criticized by people both inside and outside the fashion industry for its lack of diversity and unrealistic portrayals of women.

Everything came to a head in July. Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

After Epstein was arrested, Wexner came under scrutiny for his close relationship with the financier. The Wall Street Journal reported that Epstein had an unusual amount of influence in matters that should have been considered outside of his jurisdiction, such as his attempts to meddle in the selection of Victoria's Secret models.

Wexner wrote in a company memo after Epstein's arrest that he had been unaware of the charges that were being brought against his former financier. He also said he regretted that his "path ever crossed" Epstein's, and that he cut all ties with Epstein 12 years ago.

L Brands hired an outside law firm to investigate Epstein's ties to the company. A spokeswoman for L Brands told Business Insider that the company does not believe that Epstein ever "served as an authorized representative of the company."

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