Business Magnate Les Wexner, Founder of Victoria's Secret, Amasses Fortune from Artificial Intelligence Firm CoreWeave
In the heart of Central Ohio, a significant transformation is underway, with tech giants like Google, Meta, and biotech firm Amgen announcing expansions of their facilities. This tech boom can be attributed in part to the efforts of Les Wexner's New Albany Company, which has been instrumental in attracting these companies to the region.
Wexner, the Ohio entrepreneur who built retail giants like Abercrombie & Fitch and The Limited, has a net worth of $10.1 billion. However, contrary to some speculation, Wexner's wealth is primarily from his success in the retail industry, not the AI industry. His fortune, estimated at around $7.9 billion as of 2025, originates from his sharp business acumen in retail, focusing on niche markets and adapting to consumer trends, rather than any involvement in AI.
One of the key investments made by Wexner's family trust is in CoreWeave, an artificial intelligence company that helps businesses build data centers and loans out cloud access to graphics processing units (GPUs). CoreWeave's market capitalization has almost tripled since its March IPO, making Wexner's stake worth $2.8 billion. Despite recording a net loss of $315 million during the same period, CoreWeave's valuation continues to rise.
The success of CoreWeave has created at least four new billionaires, including its cofounders Michael Intrator, Brian Venturo, and Brannin McBee. CoreWeave recorded $982 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2022, a 420% increase from the same quarter in 2021.
Wexner's New Albany Company played a crucial role in securing Johnstown, Ohio, as the location for Intel's $28 billion semiconductor production facility, announced in January 2022. The project, initially slated to open this year, has stalled amid broader problems with the tech firm's money-losing chip manufacturing business and is now expected to open in 2031, five years behind schedule.
The New Albany Company has sold thousands of acres of land to tech giants like Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google for data center construction since 2019. Wexner's New Albany-based real estate development firm has been instrumental in transforming New Albany into an economic powerhouse.
In a move to further expand its influence, the New Albany Company is currently in the process of amassing more than 1,200 acres of land in Marysville, a small rural city, for the development of two massive business parks for industrial and innovation uses.
The data center projects, often with generous state or local tax breaks, have generated controversy due to the lack of jobs they tend to create. However, the tech boom in Central Ohio, driven by the efforts of Les Wexner's New Albany Company, is expected to bring significant economic growth and job opportunities in the near future.
References: [1] "Les Wexner: From Retail to Real Estate." Columbus Business First, 22 July 2021,
Les Wexner, despite his significant investments in the AI sector through CoreWeave, primarily amassed his fortune from his retail businesses like Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch. In terms of finance and business, Wexner's New Albany Company is not only focused on attracting tech giants to Central Ohio for data center construction but also plans to develop two massive business parks in Marysville for industrial and innovation purposes, potentially driving economic growth and job opportunities.
