Leonard Alan Lauder (born March 19, 1933) is an American billionaire, philanthropist, art collector. He and his brother, Ronald Lauder, are the sole heirs to the Estée Lauder Companies cosmetics fortune, founded by their parents, Estée Lauder and Joseph Lauder, in 1946. Having been its CEO until 1999, Lauder is the chairman emeritus of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. During his tenure as the CEO, the company went public at The New York Stock Exchange in 1996 and acquired several major cosmetics brands, including MAC Cosmetics, Aveda, Bobbi Brown, and La Mer.
In 2013, Lauder promised his collection of Cubist art to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The collection is valued at over $1 billion and constitutes one of the largest gifts in the museum’s history.
Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated Lauder’s net worth at US$32.3 billion as of September 2021, the 44th richest person in the world.
Lauder is chairman emeritus of Estee Lauder, the world’s third-largest maker of cosmetics and fragrances. The New York-based company owns the Clinique, M.A.C. and Aveda brands, and had revenue of $17.7 billion in the year to June 30, 2022. Lauder donated his collection of Cubist art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013.
Lauder’s wealth derives from his stake in Estee Lauder, the world’s third-largest maker of cosmetics and fragrances, according to Beauty Packaging magazine’s 2022 list of the largest beauty products companies. He owns 80.7 million Class A and Class B shares directly and through the New York-based LAL Family Corporation, based on February 2023 filings. The Class B shares don’t trade; they’re convertible to A shares and are treated as such here.
The value of his cash investments is based on an analysis of dividends, insider transactions, taxes and market performance.
The billionaire donated his entire collection of Cubist artworks, including 33 pieces by Picasso, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2014. The collection isn’t included in the net worth analysis.
Maggie Schoonmaker, an Estee Lauder spokeswoman, declined to comment on the net worth calculation.
Biography
Education: University of Pennsylvania
Leonard Lauder is the oldest son of Estee and Joseph Lauder. He was born in New York in 1933. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, he studied at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and served as a lieutenant in the US Navy. He joined his family’s cosmetics company in 1958, when it had annual sales of $800,000.
He became president of Estee Lauder in 1972, rising to chief executive officer 10 years later. During his tenure, he initiated the company’s international expansion, which began in 1960 with the opening of an Estee Lauder counter at Harrods department store in London.
He is chairman emeritus at Estee Lauder and at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Lauder was married for more than 52 years to his wife, Evelyn, who died in November 2011. He was remarried in 2015 to his longtime friend, Judith Glickman. He has two children, William and Gary, and five grandchildren.
Milestones
- 1933 Born in New York to Estee and Joseph Lauder.
- 1958 Joins family business after serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.
- 1959 Marries Evelyn Hausner with whom he has two sons, William and Gary.
- 1960 Opens Estee Lauder counter in London’s Harrods department store.
- 1982 Appointed CEO of Estee Lauder.
- 1994 Becomes chairman of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
- 1995 Estee Lauder sells shares in an initial public offering.
- 2011 Wife Evelyn Lauder dies at age 75 of ovarian cancer.
- 2013 Donates $1 billion Cubist art collection to Metropolitan Museum of Art.
