He started with a $5,000 loan from his aunt and went onto make billions from Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body works. Take a look at Leslie Wexner’s 316-feet long superyacht Limitless which was once the largest yachts in the world.

Limitless Yacht, a 316-foot luxury vessel by Lürssen, was a beauty inspired by another yacht, Carinthia VI. It was on the insistence of Limitless owner Leslie Wexner, who was a fan of the ship and asked Jon Bannenberg to design him a yacht that was akin to Carinthia VI, only larger and contemporary. The result was this dark blue-hulled vessel with interiors by the esteemed designer Francois Catroux.


The stupendous vessel is also as fast as Carinthia VI – a demanding requirement for such a large vessel. But the 316-foot ship boasts a top speed of 25 knots. It was a feat for the time that led to the development of a diesel-electric propulsion system.

Limitless was also the largest American-owned yacht at the time of delivery in 1997. The nearly $100 million luxury vessel sleeps 12 guests in 6 cabins and is serviced by a crew of 20 in 9 cabins. Limitless indeed set the benchmark for speed for massive yachts by becoming the first yacht to feature a combination of diesel and diesel-electric propulsion. She was powered by two 5420 kW engines, while reflecting a high level of luxury and sophistication.

Who owned the Limitless Yacht?

Les Wexner, the billionaire retailer who made Victoria’s Secret one of the most famous brands on the planet, owned the Lürssen-built Limitless. The founder of L Brands is worth $10.7 billion. L Brands had about 2,700 company-owned stores prior to its re-organization, and the name changed to Bath & Body Works in 2021. Wexner started off by working in his parents’ store in the early 1960s, and was clear that women’s sportswear was the future of fashion. He founded L Brands in 1963 with a $5,000 loan from an aunt.

Without wasting time and with an early IPO in 1969, the company experienced a whirlwind expansion period. The businessman nicknamed the ‘Merlin of the Mall’ for his exceptional marketing skills, took over companies like Lane Bryant and Victoria’s Secret (bought for $1 million in 1982) and turned them into billion-dollar enterprises. Wexner controls almost 2% of the Bath & Body Works’ shares directly, according to a July 20, 2021 company filing. The same year, he sold about 30 million of his 35 million shares to investors and the company, according to a company prospectus.