What we learned about Les Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein in documents release

The thousands of pages of court documents released over the past week from a New York lawsuit revealed no fresh allegations about the relationship between New Albany billionaire and retail magnate Les Wexner and his ties to accused sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein.

But they do serve as a reminder of just how tight Epstein, Wexner's one-time financial manager, and Wexner, the driving force behind well-known brands such as Victoria's Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch and Bath & Body Works, were at one time.

Wexner's name came up more than 45 times in a 2015 civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein and partner Ghislaine Maxwell of directing her sexual involvement with prominent men. The case was settled in 2017. Last month, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York ordered the list of names and related documents be released because there was no longer a need for them to remain hidden.

None of those who were mentioned in the documents have been charged with any crime. Their inclusion on the list only constitutes a possible association as a witness, victim, plaintiff, or having business or social contact with Epstein and/or Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in federal prison for her conviction.

Authorities say Epstein killed himself in August 2019 while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls between 2002 and 2005. He had already been previously convicted of similar crimes.

The most salacious allegation about Wexner that came out in the documents when Giuffre, after being prompted in a deposition, testified that she had sex multiple times with Wexner, a claim that Wexner has strongly denied. Even an attorney who represented Giuffre at one time has said he had doubts about the claim about Wexner and some of the others that Giuffre claimed she was forced to have sex with.

The attorney called Wexner's denial at that time of knowing about Epstein's alleged activities "very highly likely to be true."

Who is Jeffrey Epstein?

Epstein's social circle was filled with the rich and famous, including former presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew of England.

Epstein was a New York City financial manager when he met Wexner in the 1980s.

Their relationship was so tight that Wexner granted Epstein power of attorney that gave Epstein wide latitude to act on Wexner's behalf, and, at one point, Wexner was Epstein's only known client.

In 1998, Epstein was identified as president — along with Wexner — of The New Albany Company in Ohio business records. Epstein owned land in the New Albany development, including a house on King George Drive amid land owned by Wexner. Epstein owned the house from 1994 until selling it for $0 to the Wexners in December 2007,.

Wexner and Epstein also shared an interest in a Manhattan mansion bought in 1989 for $13.2 million — at the time a record price for a Manhattan townhome — by a corporation controlled by Wexner and Epstein, according to The New York Times. Nine years later, Wexner transferred his interest in the property to Epstein for $20 million, the Times reported. Epstein had lived in the mansion for several years, though Wexner never lived there.

Epstein was a longtime trustee on a Wexner foundation focused on Jewish education and leadership though the foundation says he participated in name only and was not involved in any day-to-day activities.

Who is Les Wexner?

Wexner is Ohio's richest person, with an estimated wealth of $6 billion, according to Forbes.

Wexner started The Limited in 1963 with a $5,000 loan from his aunt, beginning a retail empire that would one day include Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, Abercrombie & Fitch and other brands. He opened the first Limited store in the Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington.

He retired in 2020 as CEO and president of L Brands, which at the time consisted of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. The following year, he and his wife, Abigail Wexner, stepped down from the corporate board and the company split into two companies.

His decision to resign came after he had received criticism for his ties to Epstein and years of sliding sales at Victoria's Secret during the #MeToo era as customers offended by the retailer's hypersexual emphasis moved on to other brands.

Beyond his retail history, Wexner has left his mark across Columbus and many of its buildings, including a $100 million donation to Ohio State in 2010, a $163 million gift to the Columbus Foundation and tens of millions of dollars to other nonprofits and charities.

Wexner has said repeatedly that he was not aware of Epstein's activities.

What happened between Wexner and Epstein?

In February 2008, Wexner announced he was replacing Epstein as his investment manager.

The move followed Epstein's plea in Florida to charges of soliciting sex from a minor. Epstein paid a settlement —  $5.5 million in total — to three of more than two dozen teens who sued him.

By 2007, as allegations of sexual misconduct were emerging against Epstein in Florida, it was agreed that he should step back from managing the Wexner family' finances, Wexner said in a letter in 2019 to the Wexner Foundation.

"In that process, we discovered that he had misappropriated vast sums of money from me and my family," Wexner said.

Wexner accused Epstein of stealing tens of millions of dollars from the family, and $47 million was returned to the family to a new foundation set up by Abigail Wexner in December 2007. The foundation was dissolved three years later.

Wexner has said he didn't know anything about Epstein's alleged sex activities.

"I would never have guessed that a person I employed more than a decade ago could have caused such pain to so many people. My heart goes out to each and every person who has been hurt," Wexner said in an email in 2019 to L Brands employees obtained by The Dispatch.

"I severed all ties with Mr. Epstein nearly 12 years ago. I would not have continued to work with any individual capable of such egregious, sickening behavior as has been reported about him. As you can imagine, this past week I have searched my soul ... reflected ... and regretted that my path ever crossed his."

mawilliams@dispatch.com

@BizMarkWilliams

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Les Wexner and Jeffrey Esptein relationship shown in court documents