February 24, 2026 — 5:03am
The latest wave of Jeffrey Epstein’s email correspondence, released by the US Department of Justice last month, reveals the extent of the former financier’s connections in the worlds of fashion, beauty and wellness, which he often used as leverage to lure victims and exert power.
They also reveal the sex offender was an investor in Allergan Aesthetics, the makers of Botox, and was interested in funding “a personal genome project at Harvard” researching the genetic origins of beauty as well as research into designer babies.
Being mentioned in the files does not mean that a person had any knowledge of, or involvement in, Epstein’s crimes. This masthead is not suggesting any criminal wrongdoing on the part of those mentioned in the files, nor of any brands associated with such figures, just that their names appear.
Some people are calling for a boycott of the brands implicated in the latest release of Jeffrey Epstein’s email correspondence. Matt Willis The inclusion of some names in the files – including Estée Lauder chair Ronald Lauder and luxury skincare mogul Peter Thomas Roth – has led some online users to call for boycotts of their brands.
But Trent Rigby, director of Retail Customer Advisory, is sceptical about just how much of a dint boycotts will have in companies’ revenue and reputation.
“They generate a lot of noise, but they don’t really translate to any sort of material or major sales decline,” he says, explaining beauty tends to be a habit-driven category with shoppers unlikely to withdraw support in the long term.
However, he thinks “founder-led” brands, are more likely to bear a stain, and the public will be looking to brands for how they respond.
Below are just a few of the high-profile names revealed in the files.
Leslie Wexner Leslie Wexner. Getty Images Leslie Wexner, former CEO of lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret, has long been tied to Epstein.
The businessman, whom Epstein served as financial manager between 1987 and 2007, is also the co-founder and chair emeritus of Bath & Body Works and was responsible for making Abercrombie & Fitch a household name.
In 2009, Wexner was named by the FBI in a list of Epstein’s “10 co-conspirators”, alongside figures including Ghislaine Maxwell, Richard Kahn and modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.
Outspoken victim Virginia Guiffre previously alleged Wexner as one of the men Epstein trafficked her to.
The 88-year-old last week told US congress he was “duped by a world-class conman”
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