A prominent billionaire who once allowed deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to manage his finances downplayed their relationship during closed-door congressional testimony on Wednesday.
Les Wexner, a retail mogul best known as the former CEO of Victoria’s Secret, testified before the House Oversight Committee and told lawmakers Epstein was an Olympic-level con artist whom he never considered a close friend, a source familiar with the session told National Review.
Wexner has been linked with Epstein for decades and appears numerous times in the tranches of Epstein files that the Trump administration began releasing in December. A 2013 document contained in the Epstein files suggests Wexner was a prominent client of Epstein’s dating back to 1987. The document is titled “Jeffrey Epstein Source of Wealth” and speculates about Wexner financing much of Epstein’s lavish lifestyle. It also says Epstein bought his 50,000 square foot townhouse in Manhattan from Wexner.
The New York Times previously reported that Wexner gave Epstein power of attorney in 1991, a reflection of the vast control Epstein had over Wexner’s finances and charitable giving. During the time Epstein managed Wexner’s fortune, he became incredibly rich and gained control over many assets that once belonged to Wexner.
Another document from the Epstein files, an FBI interview with a former bodyguard of Epstein’s, says the bodyguard claimed Wexner was “best friends” with Epstein. The guard also claimed Wexner sold his Manhattan mansion to Epstein for $20, and Epstein got all of his money from Wexner. Fox News reported that Wexner sold the property to Epstein for $20 million, with Epstein paying for it with a cashier’s check and a promissory note. The home was valued at $77 million by the time federal investigators raided it in 2019 and found troves of evidence of Epstein’s sordid behavior.
Wexner maintains that he cut off Epstein in 2007 ahead of Epstein’s conviction on state-level sex crimes charges in Florida. Documents in the files indicate that Epstein paid back Wexner $100 million after Wexner accused him of large-scale theft.
“I completely and irrevocably cut ties with Epstein nearly 20 years ago when I learned that he was an abuser, a crook, and a liar,” Wexner said in his opening statement to the congressional panel.
Epstein, a financier with a net worth estimated to be as high as $500 million, sexually abused women and girls for decades until he died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His wealth was essential to facilitating the sex trafficking and abuse that Epstein conducted at his various estates. Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide and remains the subject of rampant speculation.
Although Wexner has never been charged with a crime, documents in the Epstein files suggest federal law enforcement scrutinized Wexner and, at one point, considered him a co-conspirator. Wexner appears to have been subpoenaed during a federal probe in Manhattan, but authorities believed there was “limited evidence” linking Wexner to any criminal activities.
Wexner testified that he never saw Epstein act inappropriately with women around him, and that Epstein never presented him with women. Wexner said he knew nothing about Epstein arranging sexual encounters for other powerful men and had no awareness of Epstein being involved with any intelligence agencies.
Wexner visited Epstein’s Palm Beach, Florida, estate once and spent an hour at Epstein’s island at Epstein’s request. Wexner said all of his interactions with Epstein were professional and related to business dealings. He did not recall seeing prominent figures or young women at Epstein’s properties.
Maria Farmer, a prominent Epstein accuser, has alleged she was sexually assaulted by Epstein during an artist residency at one of Wexner’s properties. Wexner testified that he never met Farmer and knew nothing about her staying on his property. Deceased Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre previously claimed she was sex trafficked to Wexner, an allegation Wexner has denied. Giuffre is best known for being pictured with the former British Prince Andrew as a teenager, although some of her other claims related to men in Epstein’s orbit have been heavily disputed.
Epstein’s longtime partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, is the only other person from Epstein’s orbit to have been charged with a crime. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence on sex trafficking charges and invoked her Fifth Amendment rights when the Oversight Committee brought her in for testimony earlier this month.
Wexner, whose net worth is approximately $9 billion, testified for several hours as part of the Oversight Committee’s ongoing investigation into Epstein’s activities and the federal government’s knowledge of them. A spokesman for the Committee told National Review that Wexner “answered every question” posed to him, and a video of the proceedings will be released at a later date.