L Brands Inc. founder and longtime Chief Executive Leslie Wexner said he wasn’t aware of his former money manager Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged criminal behavior, breaking his silence on the matter to say that his “heart goes out to each and every person who has been hurt.”
“I would never have guessed that a person I employed more than a decade ago could have caused such pain to so many people,” Wexner wrote in a memo Monday to employees of his retail company, which owns Victoria’s Secret. “I have searched my soul…reflected…and regretted that my path ever crossed his.”
Epstein’s two-decade relationship with Wexner, which extended into the 81-year-old’s retail companies, charities and personal life, became crucial to Epstein’s eventual wealth and prominence, the Journal has reported. Wexner said he severed all ties with Epstein nearly 12 years ago and “I would not have continued to work with any individual capable of such egregious, sickening behavior as has been reported about him.”
Wexner is OSU’s largest donor and his wife is on the Board of Trustees. I’ve heard him referenced in a few stories so far but this was the first time he’s publicly commented. Hopefully this is the last we hear his name in connection with this story.
(Mod Edit: Closing this as of today's [8/10/19] disclosure of Epstein's death. Feel free to espouse your conspiracy theories on other Internet platforms.)
