PEOPLE | 1937 -

Early Life and Education 

Wexner, born in America of Russian-Jewish descent, he graduated Ohio State University in 1959 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. Wexner also served in the Air National Guard and briefly attended the Moritz College of Law. He was always a very proud Jew.

Career and Business Ventures 

Wexner's retail journey commenced at his parents' clothing store, Leslie's, named after him. Through meticulous analysis of sales and inventory, he identified profitable and unprofitable items. When his father resisted implementing his suggestions, Wexner established his own retail venture. He is credited with transforming Victoria's Secret into a multi-billion-dollar business.

By 2012, Wexner held the distinction of being the longest-serving CEO of a Fortune 500 company. His leadership earned him a place on Harvard Business Review's Top 100 Best Performing CEOs in the World, ranking 11th in 2015 and 34th in 2016. In February 2020, he transitioned from CEO of L Brands to his current role as chairman emeritus. Wexner earned the moniker Merlin of the Mall due to his instrumental role in securing retail spaces in shopping malls, with his rise to power being significantly linked to prominent mall developers such as Alfred Taubman.

Association with Jeffrey Epstein 

Wexner's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein spanned two decades, from 1987 to 2007, during which Epstein served as his financial manager and primary client. Epstein conducted his business operations from a house owned by Wexner, where he also occasionally resided while advising Victoria's Secret. Wexner sold this New York property, the Herbert N. Straus House, to Epstein in the mid-1990s.

A critical turning point in their association occurred in July 1991 when Wexner granted Epstein power of attorney, a decision that was later expanded in 1993 to give Epstein complete control over Wexner's financial affairs.

Investigations into Wexner's financial dealings uncovered deep-seated connections to organised crime, including the Genovese crime family.

A police report concerning the unsolved murder of Wexner's tax lawyer, Arthur Shapiro, who was shot in the face just before he was due to testify in an IRS investigation into questionable tax practices, directly implicated Wexner and his organised crime ties.

This report was suppressed and subsequently ordered to be destroyed by the Columbus police chief.

Wexner's business interests were further intertwined with intelligence-linked operations. His company, The Limited, began a relationship in 1993 with Southern Air Transport, an airline owned by the CIA and known for its involvement in drug running and illegal arms smuggling, including activities related to the Iran-Contra affair.

Southern Air Transport relocated to Columbus, Ohio, in 1995, a move facilitated by Wexner's political influence which secured favourable financing. Local law enforcement officials described The Limited's partnership with Southern Air Transport as a Meyer Lansky-run operation, suggesting criminal activity and involvement with the CIA.

Philanthropy and Influence in Jewish and Israeli Affairs 

Convinced of the need for stronger leadership within the Jewish community, Wexner, despite feeling unprepared due to his own upbringing, co-established the Wexner Foundation in 1985 with Rabbi Herbert A. Friedman.

The foundation's original purpose was to aid emerging Jewish leaders in North America and mid-career public officials in Israel. It focuses on training leaders for both the North American Jewish Community and the Israeli government, including its national security apparatus and banking sector.

This training influences individuals who subsequently assume prominent positions in finance, government, and intelligence.

In 1991, Wexner co-founded the Mega Group (also known as the Study Group) with billionaire Charles Bronfman. This informal collective of wealthy and influential businessmen addressed Jewish issues, inspiring initiatives such as Birthright Israel.

The Mega Group included figures like Max Fisher, Michael Steinhardt, and Edgar Bronfman, whose family fortunes have historical ties to organised crime.

Notably, Michael Steinhardt, an open Atheist and co-founder of Birthright Israel, advocates for Jewish people to substitute faith with worship of the state of Israel.

The Wexner Foundation has controversial ties to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who was also intimately involved with Jeffrey Epstein. Barak received a $2.3 million research grant from the Wexner Foundation between 2004 and 2006, a period during which he held no public office.

Wexner's 'philanthropic' efforts extend to education and leadership development, notably at Harvard University, where in the early 1990s he financed the establishment of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard, a centre that serves as a host for the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders summer seminars, a programme which Klaus Schwab publicly stated aims to "penetrate ze cabinets".

The Wexner Heritage Program, a core component of the Wexner Foundation, specifically targets Jewish volunteer leaders aged 30-45, aiming to instil a particular perspective on Israeli history and Judaic texts.

Alumni of this program hold top leadership roles in various Jewish communal organisations and prominent pro-Israel entities like AIPAC, whose national board primarily consists of Wexner Heritage alumni.

This close association is significant given AIPAC's historical and controversial ties to Israeli intelligence.

Demonic Possession 

In an August 1985 profile in New York Magazine, he openly discussed his belief in being possessed by a dybbuk, a malevolent spirit from Jewish folklore.

He described this Demonic entity as constantly prompting him to achieve greater success, accumulating wealth and power. Wexner portrayed the dybbuk as a separate entity, integral to his genius, which joined him in childhood, left, and then returned around 1979 following a near-death experience during a mountain climb.

Link to the artical

The following, from thee book One Nation Under Blackmail:

"The author of that article, Julie Baumgold, describes Leslie Wexner’s dybbuk as “the Demon that always wakes up in the morning with Wexner and tweaks and pulls at him.”

Wexner could have easily chosen to frame the entity as a righteous spirit (maggid) or as his righteous ancestors (ibbur) guiding his life and business decisions, especially for the purpose of an interview that would be read widely throughout the country.

Instead, Wexner chose this particular term, which says a lot for a man who has since used his

billions to shape both mainstream Jewish identity and leadership in both the US and Israel for decades.

As the article continues, it states that Wexner has been with the dybbuk since he was a boy and that his father had recognized it and referred to it as the “churning”.

He told New York magazine that his dvbbuk makes him “wander from house to house”, “wanting more and more” and “swallowing companies larger than his own.” In other words, it compels him to accumulate more money and more power with no end in sight. Wexner later describes the dybbuk as an integral “part of his genius.”

Wexner further describes his dybbuk as keeping “him out of balance, emotionally stunted, a part of him — the precious, treasured boy-son part — lagging behind the dybbuk.”

This is consistent with other definitions of the term in Jewish media, including a feature piece published in the Jewish Chronicle.

That article first defines the term as “a demon that clings to a person’s soul” and then states that: “The Hebrew verb from which the word dybbuk is derived is also used to describe the cleaving of a pious soul to God.

The two states are mirror images of each other.” Per Wexner’s word choice and his characterization of what he perceives as an entity dwelling within him, the entity — the dybbuk — is dominant while his actual self and soul “lags behind” and is stunted, causing him to identify more with the entity than with himself."