Billionaire retail magnate and prominent art collector Les Wexner provided a closed-door deposition to the House Oversight Committee regarding his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. During the testimony, Wexner characterized himself as "naive, foolish, and gullible" for trusting the disgraced financier, whom he labeled a con man. While Wexner denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities, Democratic lawmakers noted that the 88-year-old offered few new details and frequently cited a lack of memory regarding key events.
The investigation's focus on Wexner highlights the uncomfortable intersections between high-level art philanthropy and the Epstein scandal. As a perennial fixture on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list and the primary benefactor of the Wexner Center for the Arts, Wexner’s legal entanglements cast a shadow over his institutional legacy and the provenance of his influence within the visual arts world.