Les Wexner Biography
Les Wexner is an American billionaire and businessman. He was the chairman and CEO of the L Brands (formerly Limited Brands) corporation.
Les Wexner Age
Wexner was born on September 8, 1937, in Dayton, Ohio, U.S. He is 86 years old as of 2023. Furthermore, he celebrates his birthday on September 8 every year.
Les Wexner Early Life | Education
Wexner was born into a Jewish family to parents Bella and Harry Wexner, with a sister named Susan. He attended Ohio State University, where he studied business administration and was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He also briefly attended the Moritz College of Law.
Les Wexner Wife
Wexner is married to Abigail S. Koppel, an attorney. They were married on January 23, 1993, at their residence in New Albany, Ohio. At the time of their marriage, Wexner was 55 years old, while Abigail was 31. The couple has four children: Harry, Hannah, David, and Sarah.
Les Wexner Children
Wexner and his wife, Abigail S. Wexner, have four children together. Due to privacy concerns, their names and personal details are not publicly available.
Les Wexner Career
Wexner began his career in his parents’ clothing store, where he took the initiative to analyze the sales data of women’s clothing while they were away. He discovered that while higher-priced items like jackets had higher costs, they sold less frequently than blouses, which had a faster turnover rate. Despite sharing his findings with his father, there was no interest in altering the inventory.
In 1963, Wexner received a $5,000 loan from his aunt to establish The Limited. The store’s name reflected its strategy of offering a limited selection of merchandise that could quickly turn over and yield higher profits, unlike the broader inventory of his parents’ store.
The Limited debuted its first store in Upper Arlington, Ohio, within the Kingsdale Shopping Center. Subsequently, his parents closed their store and joined him at The Limited.
In 1969, Wexner took The Limited public, trading under the ticker symbol LTD on the New York Stock Exchange. He holds the record for the longest-serving CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Wexner’s leadership earned him high rankings, including the 11th position on Harvard Business Review’s Top 100 Best Performing CEOs of 2015 and 34th in 2016.
Over the years, Wexner expanded his retail empire to include various brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Pink (Victoria’s Secret), and Bath & Body Works. Additionally, his conglomerate encompasses Henri Bendel, The White Barn Candle Company, and La Senza.
Les Wexner Jeffrey Epstein
In April 2019, Les Wexner, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, faced scrutiny in connection with Epstein’s alleged crimes. Epstein, a billionaire accused of child sex trafficking, was later arrested in July 2019.
Reportedly, one of Epstein’s accusers stated that she was sexually assaulted at Wexner’s Ohio mansion in the 1990s, implicating both Epstein and his alleged associate in the incident.
Les Wexner Politics
In 2012, Wexner held a fundraising event for Mitt Romney and contributed $250,000 to Restore Our Future, Romney’s Super PAC. In 2015, he donated $500,000 to the Right to Rise USA Super PAC, which backed Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign. On September 14, 2018, The Columbus Dispatch disclosed Wexner’s disassociation from the Republican Party, citing changes in its direction.
Les Wexner
Wexner, the founder and chairman emeritus of L Brands, owns two notable properties:
1. New Albany Estate:
- This is Wexner’s primary residence, located in New Albany, Ohio, on a sprawling 336-acre estate.
- The Georgian-style mansion, designed by renowned architect Robert A.M. Stern, boasts an estimated 55,000 square feet of living space.
- It features luxurious amenities like an indoor swimming pool, tennis courts, a 50-car garage, a guest house, a theater room, a bowling alley, a gym, and even a beauty salon.
Former Bexley Residence:
- This 8,037-square-foot, six-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bathroom mansion is located in Bexley, Ohio, and served as Wexner’s residence before he moved to the New Albany estate.
- It sits on five acres of land and features a more traditional design compared to the New Albany mansion.
- The property was put up for sale in 2020 for $3.95 million.