Leslie Wexner

Personal details

Full name

Leslie Herbert “Les” Wexner

Born

September 8, 1937 · Dayton, Ohio

Parents

Harry and Bella Wexner

Spouse

Abigail Koppel Wexner, married 1993

Children

Four

Education

Ohio State University (business administration)

Business

Founded The Limited in 1963; later Limited Brands/L Brands, Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works; New Albany Company

Epstein relationship

Financial adviser/manager from mid-1980s to 2007; power of attorney granted 1991

2026 record

February 18 sworn U.S. House Oversight deposition; November 2026 Ohio State naming review

Early life, family, education and first store

Leslie Herbert Wexner grew up in central Ohio, the son of Harry and Bella Wexner, whose clothing store served as an entry into retail. He attended Ohio State University and worked for his family before opening his own store, The Limited, in the Kingsdale shopping center near Columbus in 1963. Ohio State's biography records first-year sales of $160,000. ^[1]

He married attorney Abigail Koppel in 1993, and the couple have four children. He became a prominent Ohio philanthropist and developer, including through the Wexner Foundation, Ohio State institutions and New Albany real estate development. These are separate nonprofit, corporate and household entities. ^{[1] [2]}

Retail empire, Victoria's Secret and governance

The Limited grew through specialty stores and acquisitions into a major U.S. retail group. In 1982, Wexner purchased Victoria's Secret, originally founded in 1977 by Roy Raymond, and developed it into a global lingerie chain. The group also owned or developed Bath & Body Works and other retail brands, later using the Limited Brands and L Brands names. Wexner founded The Limited; he did not originally found Victoria's Secret. ^{[1] [3]}

He served as longtime chairman and chief executive of L Brands, leaving the CEO position in 2020 and the board in 2021 as the company prepared the separation of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. Public investors, boards and executives had responsibilities separate from Wexner's personal wealth-management arrangements. ^[3]

Wexner also established the New Albany Company for residential, commercial and municipal development near Columbus. His philanthropic gifts supported Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center, Wexner Center for the Arts, a Jewish leadership foundation and other civic institutions. Names borne by institutions are not proof of their administrative involvement in his private finances. ^[1]

Jeffrey Epstein power of attorney and estate/property transactions

Wexner employed Jeffrey Epstein in the mid-1980s and in 1991 granted him power of attorney, conferring unusually broad authority over transactions and financial assets. Epstein managed parts of Wexner's wealth and interests, including transactions in luxury property in New York City. The relationship was a documented financial-manager/client link, not merely a shared social appearance. ^{[4] [5]}

The Manhattan townhouse at 9 East 71st Street—later associated with Epstein—was part of their disputed financial/property history. In his 2026 House testimony, Wexner disputed descriptions that he simply gave Epstein the property, saying he understood Epstein had paid an appraised value. The documentary chain of legal conveyance, source of payment and appraisals remains more specific than either shorthand claim. ^{[5] [6]}

Wexner said he learned in 2007 that Epstein had misappropriated significant funds, terminated his management role and reached an arrangement for partial restitution. A 2019 letter by Wexner claimed more than $46 million had been misappropriated; later reporting and testimony debated larger transaction amounts. A stated theft allegation is not identical to a criminal conviction against Epstein for stealing from Wexner. ^{[4] [5]}

Victoria's Secret scouting allegations and abuse-related scrutiny

Survivors and other witnesses have reported Epstein presenting himself as a Victoria's Secret model scout, offering career opportunities to women or girls who later described harassment or abuse. Wexner's corporate link to Victoria's Secret was real; whether individual brand executives knew of or facilitated a particular encounter requires case-specific evidence. ^[7]

In the February 18, 2026 congressional deposition, Wexner denied knowing of Epstein's sexual abuse, said he had not invited Epstein to his company's fashion shows and denied involvement in sex crimes. Democrats investigating Epstein argued his financial support and authority warrant deeper examination. None of these matters was resolved by a criminal conviction against Wexner; he has not been charged in Epstein's crimes. ^{[5] [6]}

The House majority's November 2026 investigation report also discussed deposition testimony by Sarah Kellen describing being told Epstein was a legitimate model scout. The report documents Kellen's testimony and disputed representations, not conclusive personal culpability by Wexner. ^[7]

2026 House deposition and Ohio State governance review

The U.S. House Oversight Committee voted in January 2026 to issue a subpoena; on February 18 it deposed Wexner under oath in New Albany, Ohio. The public transcript includes questions concerning financial powers, Epstein's transactions and the Victoria's Secret allegations. His prepared remarks described Epstein as a con man who deceived him and denied knowledge of the crimes. ^{[5] [6]}

In November 2026 Ohio State released an institutional naming and governance review addressing petitions about Wexner-related facilities and relationships. The review evaluated institutional history, allegations and documentation and is not a substitute for a court finding of criminal liability. The original report distinguishes allegations concerning his former companies' harassment policies, Epstein's actions and institutional naming obligations. ^[8]

The investigation and philanthropy intersect public accountability and private economic power. No implied secret control of university policy is made merely from the existence of buildings bearing his name. ^[8]

Documented connections and The Story

Direct biographical links include Jeffrey Epstein (wealth-management and power of attorney), Leon Black only as a separately documented other Epstein client, and retail companies acquired or controlled in particular years. Wexner and Black's parallel client status is not evidence of a separate Wexner–Black business partnership. ^{[4] [9]}

The network of wealth, institutional philanthropy, brokerage and personal intermediaries forms an evidence trail for the wider Story; the chapter text is unchanged.

Ohio State 2026 naming petitions, committee recommendation and provost decision

From January through September 2026, 512 people requested changes to names of Ohio State University spaces honoring Wexner. Their submissions contained approximately 6,000 pages and raised nine categories of allegations, according to the university committee's October 7 memorandum. The committee recommended deeper review in three categories: the relationship with Epstein, alleged personal sexual misconduct, and alleged abusive employment practices at his companies. A recommendation to conduct further review is an evidentiary screening decision, not a finding the allegations are true. ^[10]

On November 6, 2026 interim provost Trevor Brown declined to advance the committee's proposed deeper inquiry, citing the university's higher threshold for name removal and an assessment of available evidence. Brown was a nonvoting ex-officio member of the Wexner Center for the Arts Foundation board by virtue of his university position, as WOSU reported. This documented governance overlap is relevant to how the decision was made; membership alone does not demonstrate an unlawful conflict of interest. ^[11]

The resulting Ohio State decision kept the Wexner name on the university's medical center, arts center and football complex. Wexner has denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and the other contested allegations. The naming decision was administrative, not a court disposition of survivors' civil claims, and the provost said a review could reopen if new evidence emerged. ^[11]

Where this subject appears in The Story

References

1. Ohio State University founder and New Albany developer biography
2. Wexner Foundation founder and philanthropy background
3. L Brands historic corporate governance and 2020–21 exits
4. AP February 2026 Wexner's Epstein power of attorney, alleged financial abuse and testimony
5. U.S. House Oversight original sworn Wexner deposition February 18, 2026
6. ABC News February 19 2026 Wexner testimony and disputed property/finance claims
7. House Oversight November 2026 report discussing survivor testimony and Victoria's Secret scouting allegation
8. Ohio State Nov 2026 independent Wexner naming review
9. Senate Finance 2023 other Epstein client Leon Black tax-finance inquiry
10. Ohio State October 7 2026 naming review memorandum, 512 petitions and categories
11. WOSU November 6 2026 report on provost Trevor Brown decision and board role