American billionaire Les Wexner's name stays on Ohio State buildings despite 512 requests

Ohio State University will keep American billionaire Les Wexner's name on its medical center, arts center and football complex, after its top academic officer ended a review of hundreds of requests to remove it over the retail mogul's ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Interim Provost Trevor Brown announced the decision in a letter to the university's Standing Advisory Committee on Nov. 6. The committee had received requests from 512 people, including alumni, employees and students, between January and September, along with about 6,000 pages of supporting documents. The committee had wanted to carry out a full review, but Brown's decision means it will not send a recommendation to university President Ravi Bellamkonda.

Wexner, the founder of L Brands and the man who built Victoria's Secret into a global lingerie brand, and his wife, Abigail, have given more than $200 million to Ohio State, where he studied business. Their largest single gift, $100 million, is the biggest donation in the university's history. Their name is on the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Les Wexner Football Complex.

What the provost said

In his letter, Brown said university policy "requires 'substantial evidence' of misconduct to justify an assessment of gross reputational harm." He said Wexner "has faced allegations of misconduct but has never been charged with or convicted of a crime," and that further work would leave the committee "in the nearly impossible position of searching for substantial evidence of misconduct." He said the committee is not an investigative body and could reopen the matter if new evidence emerges.

The committee had sought to examine three of the nine allegations raised in the requests: Wexner's relationship with Epstein, alleged personal sexual misconduct, and alleged abusive employment practices at his companies.

Brown sits on the Wexner Center for the Arts Foundation board of trustees as a non-voting member because of his role. University spokesperson Ben Johnson said policy assigns the naming decision to the provost and that the foundation board is not a governing board.

Michael DiSabato, a survivor of abuse by former Ohio State team doctor Richard Strauss and one of the campaign's leaders, called the decision "deeply disappointing, but not surprising" and said the effort to remove the name is "far from over."

Earlier this year, the committee and Bellamkonda declined a separate request to rename the Thompson Library. Several Ohio politicians have given about $200,000 in campaign contributions they received from the Wexners to charities that serve survivors of sex trafficking.

Ties to Epstein

Epstein managed Wexner's money for years and held power of attorney over his affairs. Wexner has denied any wrongdoing, including under oath, and has said he cut ties with Epstein about 2007. In a 2019 letter to members of his family foundation, written after Epstein's arrest on federal sex trafficking charges, Wexner said Epstein had "misappropriated vast sums of money" from him and his family.

Documents later made public showed Wexner continued to communicate with Epstein after Epstein was first charged, and that federal investigators at one point looked at him as a possible co-conspirator. He was never charged. He still faces civil lawsuits brought by Epstein's victims.

Wexner, 89, opened his first store, The Limited, in Columbus, Ohio, in 1963 with a $5,000 loan from his aunt and grew it into L Brands, which owned Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. He stepped down as chief executive in 2020. He is one of Ohio's richest people and among the biggest donors in the state's history.