Just a History [Les Wexner]

Posted on | September 21, 2009 | No Comments


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Leslie “Les” H. Wexner (born September 8, 1937 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American businessman from Columbus, Ohio, and currently chairman and CEO of the Limited Brands corporation.

Wexner was born to Russian Jewish immigrants in Dayton, Ohio. He attended The Ohio State University, majoring in business administration. He became a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He briefly attended law school, but left to help his parents run their store in a suburban Columbus, Ohio, shopping center. In 1963, Les Wexner borrowed $5,000 from his aunt to start ‘The Limited’ (so named because the store focused on clothing for younger women, unlike his parents’ general merchandise store). The Limited opened its first store in the Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington. Wexner’s parents closed their store one year later in 1964, and joined their son at ‘The Limited’. Wexner took Limited Brands public in 1969, listed as LTD on the NYSE. Over the years he built a large retailing and marketing conglomerate, which currently includes: Victoria’s Secret, Pink (Victoria’s Secret), Bath & Body Works, Henri Bendel, C. O. Bigelow, The White Barn Candle Company, and La Senza. Previous brands that have spun off include: Lane Bryant, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lerner New York, The Limited Too (now Tween Brands, Inc.), Structure 9, Aura Science, The Limited (separation from Limited Brands by sale of 75% to Sun Capital Investments, made official as of August 3rd, 2007), Express (separation from Limited Brands by sale of 75% to Golden Gate Capital, made official as of July 6th, 2007)

In 1989, Wexner and his mother Bella were the first to make a $1 million personal donation to the United Way. Both their names were inscribed in marble and are on display in the lobby of the United Way headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

Wexner was recently recognized as the wealthiest man in the state of Ohio. He is well known for his philanthropy, often to Jewish projects. He serves as Honorary Vice Chairman of the Board of Congregation Agudas Achim in Bexley. He was a major funder of the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University, the name of which is actually intended to honor his father. In 1984 he established the Wexner Foundation. It has both a Graduate Fellowship and an Israel Fellowship Program.

In 1999, Wexner paid $42.1 million for the Picasso Nude on a Black Armchair, and donated it to the Wexner Center for the Arts. Wexner is reported to own other Picasso paintings, and is considered to have one of the 50 largest art collections in the world.

In December 2005, Wexner was appointed to his second term on the Board of Trustees of The Ohio State University, and was elected chairman of the Board in 2009. Wexner previously served on the Board from 1988 to 1997.

On May 11, 2004 Wexner received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship at a dinner in Columbus, Ohio. The award was presented by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Wexner was honored because of his commitment to the public good.

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