Can Epstein’s Rise to Power Be Traced to the Mogul Behind Victoria’s Secret?
Retail billionaire Les Wexner, who founded L Brands, which owned companies like Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch, testified on Wednesday to the House Oversight Committee about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, claiming he was “duped by a world-class con man.”
Wexner was one of the sex offender’s wealthiest and most prestigious clients and has been tied to him since the 1980s. Ghislaine Maxwell has described Wexner as being Epstein’s “closest friend” in the 1990s. Wexner’s name appears more than 1,000 times in the Epstein files. Wexner told Democratic congressional members on Wednesday that he has not been contacted by the FBI or the Department of Justice about Epstein’s crimes. (No Republican committee members showed up for the deposition, held in New Albany, Ohio, at Wexner’s estate.)
In a statement submitted to Congress ahead of his testimony and released to the media, Wexner said he wanted to set the record straight on his relationship with Epstein. “I was naive, foolish, and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein,” said the 88-year-old, calling Epstein a “con man” and saying he “completely and irrevocably cut ties with Epstein nearly 20 years ago.” He said Epstein curated “an aura or legitimacy” while leading a double life full of unthinkable crimes, which he “most carefully and fully hid from” Wexner. Wexner said Epstein misappropriated millions of dollars, which led to him cutting off communication in 2007. (Recently released documents show Wexner and Epstein exchanging emails again in 2008.)
“I never witnessed nor had any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity,” said Wexner, adding that his heart goes out to “the survivors of Epstein’s terrible crimes.” The billionaire and former CEO of L Brands Inc. said Epstein had known he would never have “tolerated his horrible behavior.” (One victim has claimed Epstein trafficked her to Wexner, which Wexner has denied. In his statement to Congress he said he has never once been unfaithful to his wife of 33 years.)
During a break from Wexner’s testimony, House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia expressed skepticism at Wexner’s attempt to distance himself from Epstein.
“There is no single person that was more involved in providing Jeffrey Epstein with the financial support to commit his crimes than Les Wexner,” said Garcia. “There would be no Epstein Island, there’d be no Epstein plane, there’d be no money to traffic women and girls.”
So how did Epstein and Wexner’s connection unfold? Here’s a timeline of their personal and professional relationship.
1980s
In the mid-1980s, insurance executive Robert Meister and his wife introduced Wexner and Epstein. At first, Epstein provided Wexner with free financial advice, before becoming his official financial adviser. “He said he was assisting me as a favor,” Wexner wrote in his letter to Congress. “Little did I realize that, from the very start, Epstein was conniving to gain my trust.”
Wexner wrote that in addition to Meister, Elie de Rothschild and two Bear Sterns employees had highly recommended Epstein as a financial advisor.
Wexner’s previous financial adviser, Harold Levin, told the New York Times last year that he had warned Wexner not to trust Epstein, telling him, “I smell a rat.” When Wexner didn’t follow Levin’s advice, Levin says he ended up quitting his job. (A spokesperson for Wexner tells Rolling Stone denied that account, saying, ”That is not correct, no one told Mr. Wexner that they did not trust Epstein.”) In 1989, Wexner purchased a $13.2 million townhouse in Manhattan. It has been widely reported that Wexner and Epstein purchased it together via a corporation, but a spokesperson says that Wexner “alone” bought the home through corporation. “Epstein had no interest in the entity [that purchased it] at the time the entity acquired the property,” the spokesperson said.
1990s
In July 1991, Wexner granted Epstein, who by then was managing his finances, a power of attorney. In his statement, Wexner said this was so Epstein could “execute transactions quickly, without constantly requiring my signature.”
In 1992, Epstein bought a $3.5 million home near Wexner’s estate in New Albany, Ohio. He also convinced Wexner to let him replace Wexner’s sick mother on the board of the Wexner Foundation. (She later returned to the foundation.)
In January 1993, former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Stacey Williams said she delivered the prenuptial agreement Epstein had prepared for Wexner ahead of his wedding to lawyer Abigail Koppel. In an interview with The New York Times, Williams said Epstein had instructed her to deliver the prenup to Wexner while wearing a “sexy outfit” (which Williams declined) and to joke if Wexner was sure he wanted to get married. (Mr. Wexner has no recollection of that,” a spokesperson tells Rolling Stone.)
Journalist Ed Epstein said that in the mid 1990s, he was contacted by a private investigator who a Limited board member had personally hired to look into Jeffrey Epstein’s background, because of how worried they were about Epstein’s influence on Wexner. By 1996 the investigators had already determined that Epstein had dropped out of college and faked his resume to work as a teacher at prestigious NYC prep school, Dalton.
Maria Farmer, then a young artist, later claimed she was assaulted in 1996 by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in Wexner’s New Albany mansion. In a 2019 affidavit — part of a defamation suit which was dismissed in 2021, after she settled with Epstein’s victim compensation program — Farmer had said Wexner’s security staff refused to let her leave the premises for 12 hours following the assault. A spokesperson for Wexner says, “Mr. Wexner never even heard of Maria Farmer until her account surfaced in the media. Epstein’s house was not on land owned by the Wexners, and was nearly one half mile away from the Wexner home and accessed through a separate driveway.”
In 1998, Wexner sold Epstein his Upper East Side townhouse for $20 million.
2003
In January 2003, Wexner signed Epstein’s now-infamous 50th birthday book. His message reads, “Dear Jeffrey, I wanted to get you what you want… so here it is …” with a drawing of a pair of breasts underneath it. It’s signed, “Happy Birthday, your friend, Leslie.”
“Mr. Wexner was asked by Eva Anderrson to provide a drawing for Epstein’s birthday,” a spokesperson for Wexner says. “The quick doodle provided by Mr. Wexner was, in retrospect, a misguided attempt at humor for a 50-year-old bachelor. Mr. Wexner had no knowledge of Epstein’s sexual proclivities at the time and, given Mr. Epstein’s later discovered illegal acts, Mr. Wexner regrets his submission.”
That same year Wexner praised Epstein in a Vanity Fair piece by journalist Vicky Ward. He referred to Epstein as “very smart with a combination of excellent judgment and unusually high standards. Also, he is always a most loyal friend.”
“I think we both possess the skill of seeing patterns,” Wexner told Ward. “But Jeffrey sees patterns in politics and financial markets, and I see patterns in lifestyle and fashion trends.”
In the same article, Epstein said of Wexner: “People have said it’s like we have one brain between two of us: Each has a side.”
2006-2008
In July 2006, Palm Beach police arrested Epstein for soliciting prostitution from a minor. The FBI began an investigation and in 2007 federal prosecutors prepared to expand the charges.
In his statement to Congress, Wexner recounted that in late 2006 Epstein told Wexner’s wife Abigail that he had a legal issue in Palm Beach which he referred to as “baseless, trumped-up charges by an overagressive police chief.” In 2007 Epstein then told Abigail the situation “could become messy and he might have to spend time away.”
In August 2007, Wexner’s lawyers told investigators that Wexner, who was 69 at the time, was “very advanced in age and has no interaction with his ‘money manager.’” Wexner remained CEO of his company for more than a decade after this. A spokesperson for Mr. Wexner declined to comment.
Wexner said that in September 2007 he “revoked Epstein’s power of attorney, removed his access to our bank accounts, and forced him to resign from all our affiliated entities.” In Wexner’s memo to Congress, he said this was because once Abigail took back their personal finances, she realized Epstein “had stolen vast sums from our family.” In January 2008, Epstein returned $100 million of the at least $200 million he reportedly stole from Wexner.
“Once I learned of his abusive conduct and theft from my family, I never spoke with Epstein again. Never,” claimed Wexner.
Newly released records from the Justice Department show that on June 26, 2008, Wexner emailed Epstein after his plea deal to serve 18 months in a Florida state jail was announced. “Abigail told me the result … all I can say is I feel sorry. You violated your own number 1 rule … always be careful,” Wexner wrote in the email. Epstein replied with, “no excuse.”
2019-2026
In July 2019 Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges. New York federal prosecutors prepared an 86-page investigative memo in which law enforcement describes meeting with Wexner’s attorneys about Epstein misappropriating “several hundred million dollars” from the retail tycoon.
On Aug. 8, 2019, Wexner published an open letter on his foundation’s website saying he deeply regretted having ever crossed Epstein’s path. “I am embarrassed that, like so many others, I was deceived by Mr. Epstein,” he wrote. On August 10, Epstein died in his Metropolitan Correctional Center cell. His death was ruled a suicide by the New York City chief medical examiner.
In May 2020, Wexner stepped down as CEO and Chairman of L Brands, exiting the board entirely in 2021. In 2024, Wexner’s name was revealed in a previously redacted 2015 civil lawsuit from Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre. (Wexner has repeatedly denied Giuffre’s allegations she had sex with him multiple times. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025.) A 2025 Forbes report revealed the majority of Epstein’s income from 1999 to 2018 had come from Wexner and former Apollo executive Leon Black.
This year, the latest DOJ release of the Epstein files included an undated draft of a letter from Epstein to “Les.” In the draft, Epstein said he was sorry that Wexner had been “the target of an extortion attempt” by Giuffre. He claimed to recall a meeting with Abigail where she made “unfair, aggressive and false accusations” which Epstein said he could not fully answer “without violating a confidence” with Wexner.
“You and I had ‘gang stuff’ for over 15 years,” Epstein wrote in the draft. “A great deal of it, that she was unaware of. I had no intention of divulging any confidence of ours, no matter what the accusations she made.”
“I have never once, not once, done anything, but protect your interests,” wrote Epstein. “I owe a great debt to you, as frankly you owe to me.”
Wexner’s spokesperson says Wexner never received the undated draft note. “It appears Epstein was angry that Mr. Wexner refused to meet with him years after Mr. Wexner cut off all ties
with him,” says the spokesperson. “The draft appears to fit a pattern of outlandish and delusional statements by Epstein, in the recently released documents, made in desperate attempts to perpetuate his lies, proclaim his innocence, and meet with individuals who had ended their relationships with him.”
Wexner was listed as a suspected “secondary co-conspirator” in a recently released DOJ file, although the document said, “There is limited evidence regarding his involvement” and he has not been charged in the case. Initially, Wexner’s name was redacted from the recent release of DOJ files, and then later revealed by members of Congress. “This is bigger than Watergate,” Rep. Thomas Massie said, when criticizing the DOJ for redacting names. “This cover-up spans decades.”
“Mr. Wexner has always cooperated with governmental investigations into Jeffrey Epstein,” a spokesperson for Wexner tells Rolling Stone. “The Assistant U.S. Attorney told Mr. Wexner’s legal counsel in 2019 that Mr. Wexner was considered a witness and was neither a co-conspirator nor target in any respect. Through an attorney proffer, Mr. Wexner cooperated fully by providing background information on Epstein and was never contacted again.”
