Collector Les Wexner is mentioned at least 89 times in Epstein files

Billionaire mega-collector Les Wexner was mentioned at least 89 times in the latest batch of Jeffrey Epstein files recently released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee.

News of Wexner’s inclusion in the latest document dump was first reported by WCMH, and the files have been independently confirmed and reviewed by Urgent Matter.

The files do not allege any new misconduct by Wexner but show how frequently his name appeared across interviews, media inquiries and civil filings related to Epstein between the early 1990s and the mid-2010s. Much of the content surfaced in prior legal proceedings or reporting, but is now compiled in one location.

Among such mentions of Wexner is a transcript of a 2011 phone interview with Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre. In it, Giuffre was questioned by lawyers representing a group of Epstein’s victims about people they believed might have relevant information about his abuse of underage girls. Wexner was the first name asked by the lawyers.

“I think he has relevant information, but I don’t think he’ll tell you the truth,” Giuffre replied, according to the transcript. As reported by WCMH, Wexner has repeatedly denied ever meeting Giuffre or other Epstein victims.

The only material that appears to be newly surfaced involves an email chain in which Ghislaine Maxwell forwarded to Epstein an inquiry from a journalist for The Mail on Sunday asking, among other questions, whether Giuffre had been forced to have sex with Epstein and several of his associates, including Maxwell and Wexner.

Epstein then forwarded the email to Andrew Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, writing that “the only person she didn’t have sex with was Elvis,” an apparent reference to Giuffre. Even in that exchange, the documents do not present allegations against Wexner.

And the latest release of files includes a copy of a lawsuit filed by an alleged Epstein victim in September 2016. That alleged victim said she suffered sexual abuse in the early 1990s in a Manhattan mansion that was bought in 1989 by a company linked to Wexner. Bank records obtained by WCMH appear to show Wexner sold the property to Epstein in 1998.

It is important to note that being named in connection with Epstein does not itself indicate illegal or improper activity. Still, questions have lingered about the extent of Wexner’s ties to Epstein.

Wexner built his fortune as the founder of L Brands, the company behind retail giants like Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, and has since become a major collector of modern masters with his wife, Abigail. Together, they are listed as Top 200 collectors by ARTnews.

The retail mogul has also been a long-time figure in the art world through the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University, a contemporary arts institution he helped found and continues to support through major gifts.

But Wexner is also known for having a long financial relationship with Epstein through the 1980s until severing ties with him in 2007, which has led to scrutiny as authorities investigate ties between the former financier and his associates.

Epstein was arrested on multiple charges, including sex trafficking, in July 2019 and died in a federal detention facility in New York City the following month, leading Wexner to publicly speak about Epstein during an L Brands investor day in Columbus, Ohio, as reported at the time by WCMH.

In his remarks at the time, Wexner called Epstein’s behavior “abhorrent” and “something that we would all condemn” and said that he was “embarrassed” to have been close to the financier.

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