Les Wexner claims he was the victim of a "diabolical" con artist who exploited his trust to manage a multi-billion dollar retail empire. For years, the founder of L Brands maintained that Jeffrey Epstein was a brilliant financial mind who simply turned out to be a monster. But the mechanics of their relationship suggest something far more complex than a simple case of a billionaire being "duped." To understand how Epstein gained total power over the Victoria’s Secret fortune, one must look past the emotional denials and examine the specific legal and financial levers that were handed to a man with no verifiable track record in high-finance management.
The timeline of their association does not depict a brief lapse in judgment. It shows a systematic transfer of authority. Between the late 1980s and 2007, Epstein transitioned from a social acquaintance to a man holding full power of attorney over Wexner’s personal and professional life. This wasn't a standard advisory role. It was total access. Epstein could hire and fire employees, sign tax returns, and execute property deals without Wexner’s immediate signature. In the high-stakes world of Ohio retail royalty, such an arrangement is virtually unheard of unless there is a level of intimacy—or a specific utility—that transcends traditional business logic.
The Power of Attorney Trap
Most billionaires employ a phalanx of CFOs, lawyers, and family office managers to ensure no single person can sink the ship. Wexner did the opposite. By granting Epstein full power of attorney, he bypassed the institutional safeguards that usually protect a public company founder. This was the original sin of the L Brands era.
It is difficult to reconcile the image of Wexner as a ruthless, detail-oriented merchant prince with the image of a man so easily misled by a "diabolical" personality. Wexner built a garment empire from a single store in a Columbus mall. He was a man who obsessed over the specific shade of pink on a storefront and the exact wording of a catalog. Yet, when it came to the man managing his private planes, his New York mansion, and his charitable foundations, the oversight was non-existent.
Evidence suggests that Epstein used this proximity to Wexner to build a veneer of legitimacy that he then used to ensnare others. The "Wexner connection" was Epstein’s golden ticket. Without the backing of the man who owned Victoria’s Secret, Epstein was just another high-society grifter with a shadowy past. Wexner provided the one thing money can’t always buy: unimpeachable institutional credibility.
The New York Mansion Mystery
One of the most glaring inconsistencies in the "duped" narrative involves the transfer of the massive Manhattan townhouse on East 71st Street. This property, originally purchased by a Wexner-linked entity for roughly $13 million, eventually ended up in Epstein’s hands for zero reported dollars in a series of opaque transactions.
- Why would a savvy businessman gift a premier piece of Manhattan real estate to a hired consultant?
- How did the board of L Brands or the Wexner family office justify this transfer?
- What services were so valuable that they commanded a payment in the form of one of the largest private residences in New York City?
These are not the questions of a man who has been "duped." These are the questions of a lopsided partnership where the leverage was clearly held by the subordinate. Wexner’s defense—that Epstein was a "wolf in sheep's clothing"—ignores the fact that Wexner himself provided the wool.
The Culture of Silence at L Brands
While Wexner focused on the "diabolical" nature of Epstein’s private life, the rot extended into the corporate culture of L Brands. Under Epstein’s shadow, Victoria’s Secret became a brand defined by a specific, narrow gaze. Internal reports and whistleblower accounts have since painted a picture of a workplace where harassment was ignored and "the Epstein connection" served as a silent threat.
Epstein reportedly used his proximity to Wexner to pose as a talent scout for the brand. He promised aspiring models access to the catalog, using the Wexner name as his shield. When these women were allegedly assaulted or harassed, the institutional response was often muted. The power structure at the top was so centralized around Wexner and his "fixer" that there was no safe channel for complaints.
This is the true cost of the Wexner-Epstein synergy. It wasn't just about lost money or a tarnished reputation; it was about the creation of a private fiefdom where accountability was replaced by absolute loyalty to the founder. In this environment, Epstein didn't have to be a genius to dupe people. He just had to be the guy who talked to the boss every day.
The Financial Fallout and the Clean Break
When the "clean break" finally happened in 2007, it was suspiciously quiet. Wexner claims he severed ties after Epstein’s initial legal troubles in Florida began to surface. However, the legal disentanglement took years. Epstein continued to benefit from his previous association with the Wexner family for nearly a decade after the supposed fallout.
The numbers don't add up. Wexner’s legal team later claimed that Epstein "misappropriated" vast sums of money—reports suggest upwards of $46 million—from the Wexner family trust. If a financial advisor steals $46 million from a retail mogul, the standard response is a lawsuit or a criminal referral. Instead, there was a quiet settlement and a decade of silence. This lack of aggression from a man known for his competitive fire suggests that a public courtroom battle was the last thing Wexner wanted.
The risk of discovery in a legal proceeding often outweighs the desire to recover stolen funds. By allowing Epstein to fade into the background with his millions (and his New York mansion), Wexner effectively bought himself a decade of peace before the 2019 arrest brought the whole house of cards down.
The Institutional Failure of the Board
The L Brands board of directors failed in its fiduciary duty. A CEO’s close personal relationship with a convicted sex offender is a material risk to the brand. In the case of Victoria’s Secret, that risk was compounded by Epstein’s direct interference with the talent pool.
- Lack of Vetting: There is no evidence that the board ever conducted an independent audit of Epstein’s influence on company assets.
- Asset Commingling: The lines between Wexner’s personal finances (managed by Epstein) and L Brands’ corporate interests were frequently blurred.
- Reputational Inertia: The board remained stagnant, allowing Wexner to operate the company as a personal monarchy long after the Epstein red flags were flying.
Deconstructing the Victim Narrative
To accept the "duped" defense, one must believe that Les Wexner was the only person in the world who didn't know what Jeffrey Epstein was doing. This stretches the limits of credulity. Wexner is a man who built a career on identifying trends before they happened. He was an expert at reading people, spotting talent, and predicting behavior.
The idea that he was a passive observer in his own life—while Epstein was shuffling tens of millions of dollars and acquiring properties—is a convenient fiction. It is more likely that Wexner found in Epstein a man who could handle the "messy" parts of a billionaire’s life: the logistics, the privacy, and the social engineering. In exchange, Epstein was given the keys to the kingdom.
The "diabolical" label is a retrospective attempt to frame a business partnership as a horror movie. It shifts the blame from a failure of governance to a supernatural level of manipulation. But in the world of high finance, things aren't supernatural. They are contractual.
The Mechanics of the Exit
Wexner’s eventual departure from the L Brands board and the sale of the company to private equity marked the end of an era. But the questions remain. The "hard-hitting" truth is that Wexner’s legacy is now inextricably linked to the man he claims tricked him. You cannot separate the growth of Victoria’s Secret from the era of Epstein’s influence.
The retail industry should take this as a cautionary tale about the centralization of power. When a founder becomes bigger than the brand, and when that founder’s personal "fixers" are given more authority than the legal department, the company is no longer a business. It’s a liability.
Wexner may have been duped about the extent of Epstein’s crimes, but he was a willing participant in the system that allowed those crimes to flourish. He provided the capital, the credibility, and the cover. No amount of "diabolical" rhetoric can erase the signatures on the power of attorney documents.
Demand an audit of the gatekeepers in your own organizations. Look at who holds the power of attorney and ask why. The next Epstein isn't looking for a victim; he's looking for a billionaire who wants to stop looking at the details.
