Who is Mike Jeffries? Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO accused of exploiting men for sex. Know his life & career

Mike Jeffries, ex-CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch has been accused of exploiting young men for sex, along with his partner Mathew Smithat fashion events they hosted across the world, a BBC investigation revealed on Monday (Oct 2).

BBC reporter Rianna Croxford during thetwo-year investigation for Panorama, spoke to eight men who attended the events between 2009 and 2015. They said that these events involved sex acts, which were run for Jeffries, 79, and Smith, 60.

The young men alleged that a "middleman" was hired by the fashion boss who used to "sexually audition" the men by asking them to perform oral sex on him before they were introduced to the duo.

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Some of the men alleged that at the events, the two partners would either engage in intercourse with about four men or would 'direct' them to have intercourse with each other. Afterwards, the individuals would receive an envelope filled with cash. A victim told Croxford, "What happened to me changed my life – and not for the better."

Here's what you should know about Mike Jeffries:

Mike Jeffries's personal life:

Michael Stanton Jeffries, popularly known as Mike Jeffries, is an American businessmanborn and brought up in Los Angeles. He completed his MBAfrom Columbia Business School in 1968.

He married Susan Hansen and the couple have a son. The fashion executive is reportedly living with Mathew and his three dogs, Salon.com reported.

Jeffries's Career:

Jeffries was first hired by Les Wexner, CEO of LBrands in 1992 to invigorate Abercrombie & Fitch. However, by 1996, LBrands was no longer involved with the company and left Jeffries in charge.

Gaining success, he helped the brand gross$2 billion yearly by 2006. Despite his success, Jeffries was criticised for using semi-nudes for advertising and selling clothes with racially and sexually off-colour slogans.

The executive was often involved in controversies for hisstatements. One of these comments included, "We hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that."

During an interview with Salon, he stated that his clothing is exclusively for "cool people." Moreover, he added that he did not want any overweight or unattractive people to wear his clothes. However,the companyissued a public apology, reading, "We are completely opposed to any discrimination, bullying, derogatory characterisations or other anti-social behaviour based on race, gender, body type or other individual characteristics."

Jeffries, who was once one of the USA’s highest-paid CEOs, stepped down in 2014. He has a net worth of $300 million, according to the website Celebrity Net Worth, which he acquired during his days at the company.

(With inputs from agencies)

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