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10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Leslie Wexner.md
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@ -60,9 +60,9 @@ Abigail Koppel, a 31-year-old lawyer, married Wexner in 1993, and the couple set
### Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein
Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein were introduced in the mid-1980s; later reporting placed the meeting around 1986 through insurance executive [[Robert Meister]], who had met Epstein on a flight to Palm Beach.[^13] Wexner wrote in 2019 that he met Epstein "through friends who vouched for and recommended him as a knowledgeable financial professional," and that "Mr. Epstein represented that he had various well-known and respected individuals both as his financial clients and in his inner circle."[^11] Epstein told people he met Wexner in 1986 in Palm Beach and won his confidence by advising him to stay out of the stock market before the 1987 crash; asked by Vanity Fair whether Wexner had known of his work for [[Steven Hoffenberg]] at [[Towers Financial Corporation]], Epstein said he had begun working for Wexner in 1989 and that "it was certainly not the same time." Before he was engaged, Epstein met several times with [[Harold Levin]], then head of Wexner Investments, who found his ideas about currencies incomprehensible; a former Limited vice-chairman, [[Robert Morosky]], said "everyone was mystified as to what his appeal was."[^12] Epstein became Wexner's financial adviser by 1987, and in July 1991 Wexner gave him a power of attorney that authorized Epstein to sign checks, borrow money, buy and sell property, and hire and fire on Wexner's behalf.[^1] A close Wexner adviser, Harold Levin, reportedly warned that he did not trust Epstein, telling Wexner he "smell[ed] a rat," and at least one board member commissioned a background investigation, but Wexner continued the relationship.[^13] According to the [[New York Times]] account, Epstein later engineered Levin's firing by accusing him of stealing from Wexner, an accusation that would subsequently be leveled at Epstein himself.[^15]
Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein were introduced in the mid-1980s; later reporting placed the meeting around 1986 through insurance executive [[Robert Meister]], who had met Epstein on a flight to [[Palm Beach, Florida|Palm Beach]].[^13] Wexner wrote in 2019 that he met Epstein "through friends who vouched for and recommended him as a knowledgeable financial professional," and that "Mr. Epstein represented that he had various well-known and respected individuals both as his financial clients and in his inner circle."[^11] Epstein told people he met Wexner in 1986 in Palm Beach and won his confidence by advising him to stay out of the stock market before the 1987 crash; asked by Vanity Fair whether Wexner had known of his work for [[Steven Hoffenberg]] at [[Towers Financial Corporation]], Epstein said he had begun working for Wexner in 1989 and that "it was certainly not the same time." Before he was engaged, Epstein met several times with [[Harold Levin]], then head of Wexner Investments, who found his ideas about currencies incomprehensible; a former Limited vice-chairman, [[Robert Morosky]], said "everyone was mystified as to what his appeal was."[^12] Epstein became Wexner's financial adviser by 1987, and in July 1991 Wexner gave him a power of attorney that authorized Epstein to sign checks, borrow money, buy and sell property, and hire and fire on Wexner's behalf.[^1] A close Wexner adviser, Harold Levin, reportedly warned that he did not trust Epstein, telling Wexner he "smell[ed] a rat," and at least one board member commissioned a background investigation, but Wexner continued the relationship.[^13] According to the [[New York Times]] account, Epstein later engineered Levin's firing by accusing him of stealing from Wexner, an accusation that would subsequently be leveled at Epstein himself.[^15]
A New York Times Magazine investigation published December 16, 2025 traced Epstein's accumulation of wealth back to his hiring at [[Bear Stearns]] and his early targeting of wealthy businessmen, and detailed how his control over Wexner's accounts gave him unregulated access to fund real estate purchases, including property near [[Mar-a-Lago]] in Palm Beach, the [[9 East 71st Street]] townhouse in Manhattan, and the New Albany mansion.[^13] Epstein also drafted the prenuptial agreement for Wexner's marriage to [[Abigail Wexner|Abigail Koppel]] and obtained tax breaks for Epstein's [[Little St. James]] island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.[^13] The Times wrote that the central unanswered question was what Wexner gained from the relationship, and Wexner declined to participate in the investigation.[^15]
A New York Times Magazine investigation published December 16, 2025 traced Epstein's accumulation of wealth back to his hiring at [[Bear Stearns]] and his early targeting of wealthy businessmen, and detailed how his control over Wexner's accounts gave him unregulated access to fund real estate purchases, including property near [[Mar-a-Lago]] in Palm Beach, the [[9 East 71st Street]] townhouse in Manhattan, and the New Albany mansion.[^13] Epstein also drafted the prenuptial agreement for Wexner's marriage to [[Abigail Wexner|Abigail Koppel]] and obtained tax breaks for Epstein's [[Little St. James]] island in the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]].[^13] The Times wrote that the central unanswered question was what Wexner gained from the relationship, and Wexner declined to participate in the investigation.[^15]
Wexner described the relationship to Vanity Fair for its March 2003 profile: "I think we both possess the skill of seeing patterns. But Jeffrey sees patterns in politics and financial markets, and I see patterns in lifestyle and fashion trends." He called Epstein "very smart with a combination of excellent judgment and unusually high standards. Also, he is always a most loyal friend," and said that "Jeffrey has the unusual quality of knowing when he is winning." Epstein said, "People have said it's like we have one brain between two of us: each has a side." A person who worked for Wexner and saw their contract said Epstein was involved in "everything, not just a little here, a little there. Everything!" and that "Wexner likes having a hatchet man... Whenever there is dirty work to be done he'd stick Jeffrey on it." Epstein inserted himself into the construction of Wexner's 315-foot yacht Limitless, which led to litigation between Wexner and the shipyard, and the lawyer Lars Forsberg said his firm had to sue for its fees. When the co-investors in [[Riddell Sports]] bought out Epstein's stake in 1995 and asked him to guarantee access to a few million dollars against later disputes, Wexner signed for him.[^12]