Leslie Wexner has never been charged with any offence, denies any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, and says he was defrauded. An August 2019 FBI document released in January 2026 lists him as a possible “co-conspirator” — a designation, not a charge, and one the released prosecution memo does not elaborate. He was deposed by Congress in February 2026 and has said he has no secrets to hide. This page sets out the financial relationship, which is the largest documented in Epstein’s life.
The single most consequential document in this archive may be a power of attorney signed in 1991.
It let Epstein sign cheques, borrow money, and buy and sell real estate in Wexner’s name. Everything else — the townhouse, the plane, the island, the standing that got him into Harvard and MIT — followed from being the man who handled that fortune.
He was warned. Wexner’s own financial adviser, Harold Levin, met Epstein once and said “I smell a rat… I don’t trust him.” Wexner put Epstein in charge of Levin instead. Epstein later allegedly had Levin fired for stealing — the same accusation Wexner would eventually level at Epstein.
The two competing accounts.
Wexner’s: he was “duped by a world-class con man,” was “naive and gullible,” discovered the theft in 2007, severed ties immediately, recovered part of the money, and knew nothing of the crimes.
What the record adds: the relationship ran roughly twenty years; Epstein sat on his foundations; a witness described him as “#1 on Epstein’s speed dial”; the theft was apparently never reported to law enforcement; and the full amount taken has still never been disclosed.
Both accounts can be partly true. A man can be genuinely defrauded and also have enabled, through inattention, the fortune that made everything else possible.
What is not established is that Wexner knew what Epstein was doing to girls. No released document says so — including the memo that referenced other billionaires in exactly those terms, and did not name him.
Before Wexner (1985): a former Dalton School teacher without a degree, briefly at Bear Stearns, running a small consulting firm.
After Wexner (1995): power of attorney over a multibillion-dollar fortune, the largest private house in Manhattan, a trusteeship over the children’s trust, and directorships at two foundations.
No other relationship in Epstein’s life produced anything comparable. This is the source.
Section 01
The Figures
Every number below has been stated by Wexner, his attorneys, congressional investigators, or a court record. They do not reconcile with each other, and that is the point.
Identified by congressional investigators as transferred, given in stocks, or provided directly by Wexner to Epstein. Wexner “appears to be unaware” of much of it.
What Wexner’s own attorneys told federal prosecutors in 2019 that Epstein had stolen or misappropriated.
Repaid by Epstein in 2008, per those attorneys — including $46m to a fund run by Abigail Wexner.
The value of the Manhattan townhouse at the time of the 2019 raid. Transferred to Epstein for $0.
What the townhouse sold for after his death. Proceeds went to the Victims’ Compensation Program.
The figure first reported by the Wall Street Journal in 2019 — which turned out to be a fraction of the total.
In 2019 the public figure was $46 million. Wexner’s own attorneys had already told prosecutors it was several hundred million. By February 2026 congressional investigators put the flow at more than $1 billion.
Each time the question has been asked more precisely, the number has grown by an order of magnitude — and Wexner has still not disclosed the full scope of what was taken.
Section 02
The Record
Epstein is introduced to Wexner by Harold Levin, Wexner’s own financial adviser. Levin warned him off after one meeting: “I smell a rat… I don’t trust him.” Wexner ignored the advice and put Epstein in charge of Levin. Epstein later allegedly got Levin fired for stealing from Wexner — the same accusation Wexner would make against Epstein two decades later.
Epstein begins presenting himself as a talent scout for Victoria’s Secret. Two aspiring models have publicly described being lured into private meetings with him on that basis.
Wexner buys 9 East 71st Street for $13.2 million — then the largest private residence in Manhattan.
Wexner signs a general power of attorney giving Epstein authority to sign cheques, borrow money, and buy and sell real estate in his name. He is reportedly also named a trustee of Wexner’s children’s trust. This is the document that made Epstein’s career.
Epstein is installed as CEO of the townhouse’s holding corporation, and the property is effectively transferred to him for $0. It was valued at roughly $77 million at the time of the 2019 raid — a substantial share of everything he owned.
Epstein is a director of both the Wexner Foundation and the Wexner Heritage Foundation.
Wexner has nine phone numbers in the black book and appears in the flight logs. Per an index of the DOJ release, he appears in 1,313 case documents and 42 email records. A cellmate interview summary records a witness saying “Wexner was #1 on Epstein’s speed dial.”
As the Florida investigation begins, it is “agreed that he should step back from the management of our personal finances.” Wexner says he then discovered Epstein had “misappropriated vast sums.”
Epstein repays approximately $100 million, per what Wexner’s attorneys told investigators — including $46 million to the YLK Charitable Fund, run by Abigail Wexner. Wexner has never disclosed the full sum taken. It is unclear whether the theft was ever reported to law enforcement.
Days after Epstein’s arrest, Wexner writes to his foundation: “I am embarrassed that, like so many others, I was deceived by Mr. Epstein… I deeply regret having ever crossed his path.” He says he was “sickened.”
An FBI Criminal Investigation document — released in the January 2026 DOJ dump — lists Wexner as a possible “co-conspirator” in Epstein’s crimes. He has never been charged, and the 86-page prosecution memo that referenced other billionaires allegedly serviced by underage girls did not name him in that context.
In the same 86-page memorandum, Wexner’s own attorneys told federal prosecutors that Epstein had stolen or misappropriated “several hundred million dollars” — far more than the $46m figure then public.
The townhouse is sold for $51 million, with proceeds directed to the Victims’ Compensation Program.
After Democrats subpoena him following the 30 January DOJ release, five members of the House Oversight Committee travel to his Ohio residence to depose him. Wexner, 88, says he was “duped by a world-class con man,” “naive and gullible,” committed no wrongdoing and has no secrets. He says he visited the island once, for a few hours, with his wife and young children.
Rep. Robert Garcia states that congressional investigators have identified more than $1 billion that was “either transferred, provided in stocks or given directly” by Wexner to Epstein — and that Wexner “appears to be unaware” of much of it.
Section 03
Victoria’s Secret
This is the part of the Wexner file that connects the money to the crimes, and it needs stating precisely.
From the late 1980s, Epstein presented himself as a talent scout for Victoria’s Secret — Wexner’s flagship brand. Two aspiring models have publicly described being lured into private meetings with him on that basis.
Why the pretext worked. It was not a lie about a company he had no connection to. He genuinely controlled the finances of the man who owned it — which meant the claim survived any check a cautious young woman might have made.
This archive documents the same structure elsewhere. The modelling pipeline ran on agencies and scouting as the mechanism of first contact. Victoria’s Secret is the earliest documented version of it, and the most powerful, because the brand was real and so was his access to it.
What the company did. L Brands’ board retained an outside law firm in 2019 to review any role Epstein played in the business. The Wexner Foundation conducted its own independent review in 2020.
What has not been established. That Wexner or the company knew the brand’s name was being used this way. No released document shows that, and no finding has been published.
What is documented is that the most valuable thing Wexner gave Epstein may not have been the money at all — it was a reason for a stranger to believe him.
Section 04
Open Questions
Section 05
Sources
The February 2026 Deposition
“Duped by a world-class con man” — and Rep. Garcia on the $1bn+ identified by investigators.
spectrumnews1.com →Everything We Know About Wexner in the Files
Feb 2026. The 86-page memo, the attorneys’ “several hundred million” statement, and the 1991 power of attorney.
forbes.com →How Wexner Met Epstein
Dec 2025. Harold Levin’s warning, the Victoria’s Secret talent-scout pretext, and how the fortune was built.
wosu.org →The Undisclosed Scope
The $46m to the YLK Charitable Fund as only “a portion,” and the models lured on the Victoria’s Secret pretext.
abcnews.com →The File Record
1,313 case documents, the flight log entries, the townhouse transfer, and the FBI co-conspirator listing.
epsteinexposed.com →The Origin
Bear Stearns, Towers Financial and Hoffenberg — the first time he was inside a fraud and charged with nothing.
Read the report →The Money Gap
The wider financial record — the banks, the unexplained flows, and the reporting that came too late.
Read the report →The Pipeline
The modelling and scouting mechanism that Victoria’s Secret prefigures.
Read the report →The Properties
9 East 71st Street — what was installed there, and what was found in 2019.
Read the report →