The head of one of France’s most exclusive fashion houses says Jeffrey Epstein tried — and failed — to gain his attention.
According to the New York Post, Hermès CEO Axel Dumas told Reuters he rejected repeated attempts by the disgraced financier to build a relationship, calling Epstein a “financial predator” who targeted him during a vulnerable moment for the company.
“I think I was a target, I was a young CEO and we were in the middle of the LVMH affair. He was a financial predator,” Dumas said. “He already had a hateful reputation.”
According to documents released by the Justice Department, Epstein contacted Dumas’ assistant multiple times in 2013 and 2014 seeking meetings. The emails show the requests were declined, with Dumas’ office citing a “prior engagement” and “a very tight agenda.”
Dumas said he encountered Epstein only once, briefly, at a company event inside a Hermès atelier in March 2013. Epstein was not on the guest list and arrived with a group that included filmmaker Woody Allen and his wife.
“After that, he tried three times to meet with me, and I refused every time,” Dumas said. “I can’t tell you exactly what we knew about him or not, because I can’t remember 13 years ago, but he already had a loathsome reputation.”
The DOJ records also show Epstein was a customer of the luxury brand and had asked whether Hermès could “design my plane.” One email from Epstein instructed an assistant to “Track down Axel Dumas in hermes [sic] headquarters paris [sic].”
Epstein was known for cultivating relationships with wealthy and influential figures. Beginning in the 1980s, Victoria’s Secret billionaire Les Wexner granted him sweeping authority over his finances, including power of attorney, and Epstein ultimately earned more than $200 million in fees from Wexner while gaining control of major assets.
Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black also paid Epstein about $170 million for tax and estate planning advice between 1999 and 2018, payments that later drew scrutiny and led to Black stepping down as CEO in 2021. Black has said he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal conduct and denied wrongdoing.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida state charges related to soliciting a minor and served 13 months in jail. He was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and later died in a Manhattan jail cell.
