No. 21: Leslie H. and Abigail S. Wexner
February 6, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
Amount donated in 2011: $65-million
Beneficiary: Ohio State University
Donors’ background: Mr. Wexner is chairman of Limited Brands Corporation, a Columbus, Ohio, company that operates retail stores including Henri Bendel, Victoria’s Secret, and others. Mr. Wexner founded the Limited, a clothing business, in 1963, and sold it and another of his apparel companies, Express, in 2007.
Mr. Wexner, 74, and his wife, Abigail, pledged $65-million to Ohio State University to support the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, the Wexner Center for the Arts, and other university programs, including its medical center.
Of the total amount pledged, the Wexners have paid $20-million and plan to provide the rest over the next nine years.
A 1959 graduate of the university, Mr. Wexner serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees. The couple has previously given the institution $35-million personally, and Mr. Wexner’s company has awarded the university a total of $45-million.
Mr. Wexner serves on many other nonprofit boards, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in Cambridge, Mass.; several Columbus groups, including the Columbus Jewish Federation, the Columbus Partnership, and Ohio State University’s John Glenn School of Public Affairs; as well as the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the International Council of Royal Shakespeare Company America. .
Ms. Wexner serves on the boards of a number of Columbus organizations, including the Center for Child and Family Advocacy, the Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence, KidsOhio.org, KIPP Journey Academy;, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation, and the Wexner Center Foundation. She founded the Center for Child and Family Advocacy, the Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence, and KidsOhio.org.
—Maria Di Mento
