Leslie Wexner granted
Jeffrey Epstein full power of attorney over his estimated $1 billion fortune on July 1, 1991, authorizing Epstein to sign checks, hire employees, buy and sell properties, borrow money, and sign tax returns in Wexner's name without requiring Wexner's direct approval.
Wexner sold his 21,000-square-foot Manhattan townhouse at 9 East 71st Street to an Epstein-controlled corporation in 1998 for approximately $20 million — a price Wexner told Congress was the appraised value — though later offshore shell transfers moved the property to a Virgin Islands entity for effectively nothing.
Epstein used Victoria's Secret corporate connections to approach young models under the pretense of legitimate auditions, leveraging Wexner's business relationships to provide credibility for recruitment operations.
L Brands executives confirmed in the mid-1990s that Epstein had unusual access to company operations and model recruitment processes, and reported the abuse to Wexner, who said he would address it but did not cut ties.
Wexner maintained an extraordinarily close relationship with Epstein for over 15 years from the mid-1980s through 2007, calling him a close personal friend and trusted financial advisor with unprecedented access to his fortune, foundations, and corporate network.
By fall 2007, Wexner revoked Epstein's power of attorney and discovered Epstein had misappropriated vast sums; Epstein repaid at least $100 million before Wexner's 2019 public letter, which described only the $46 million charitable donation as a portion of what he recovered.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost investigated the Wexner-Epstein financial relationship in 2019 and found no evidence of criminal conduct by Wexner, though the investigation raised unresolved questions about oversight failures spanning 16 years.
