Columbus, Ohio served as the operational headquarters of Les Wexner’s L Brands empire, and through that connection Jeffrey Epstein embedded himself in the wealthiest social circles of central Ohio throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Wexner’s primary residence was in New Albany, a wealthy enclave outside Columbus that he effectively co-developed as a planned community. Epstein was granted access to Wexner’s properties in Ohio as part of their unusually close financial relationship, which included Epstein holding a sweeping power of attorney over Wexner’s assets.
Columbus-area business figures who interacted with Epstein through Wexner have described him as appearing to act as Wexner’s financial manager and close confidant. His presence at L Brands-connected events gave him an aura of legitimate institutional affiliation that he leveraged repeatedly.
Wexner later transferred his New York mansion at 9 East 71st Street to Epstein for an anomalously low price — or as Epstein later claimed, as a gift — a transaction that prosecutors and journalists examined closely as evidence of the depth and financial one-sidedness of the relationship.
After Epstein’s 2019 arrest, Wexner issued a statement calling Epstein’s conduct a “profound betrayal” and claiming he had severed ties with Epstein around 2007. How exactly the relationship ended, and what Wexner did and did not know, remained significant unresolved questions.