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Cosmetics giant Leonard Lauder dies at 92
Leonard Alan Lauder, who led the cosmetics company his parents founded and turned it into an international powerhouse, died June 14.
Mr. Lauder was 92. He died surrounded by family, the Estée Lauder Companies said in a prepared statement Sunday. It did not say where Mr. Lauder had died.
Mr. Lauder, a longtime Palm Beach resident, was the son of Estée and Joseph Lauder, who founded their company in 1946 in New York City. Their son Leonard was born there on March 19, 1933.
He was a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Navy's Officer Candidate School. He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and a Navy reservist, and also studied at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business.
In 1958, Mr. Lauder joined the Estée Lauder Companies. He was its president from 1971 to 1995, and chief executive officer from 1982 to 1999, when he became chairman emeritus.
The company said in its statement announcing Mr. Lauder's death that he helped 'helping transform the business from a handful of products sold under a single brand in U.S. stores to the multi-brand, global leader in prestige beauty that it is today.'
Mr. Lauder led the launch of now-familiar cosmetic brands such as Aramis, Clinique, and Lab Series, and was involved in the acquisition of other brands including Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone London, La Mer, and M∙A∙C.
He was a noted philanthropist in art and medicine, pledging his 78-piece collection of Cubist art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013. He also established the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art at the Museum. He was a trustee of the Whitney Museum of Modern Art from 1977 to 2011, and also its chairman emeritus.
Mr. Lauder was honorary chairman of the board of directors at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which his late wife Evelyn H. Lauder founded in 1993. He also co-founded and led the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation with his brother, Ronald S. Lauder, which supports cutting-edge drug research.
Mr. Lauder was one of the wealthiest people in the world, with an estimated worth in the 2025 Forbes list of billionaires at $10.1 billion.
Mr. Lauder was married to Evelyn Lauder from 1959 until her death in 2011. He married Judy Glickman Lauder in 2015.
'Throughout his life, my father worked tirelessly to build and transform the beauty industry, pioneering many of the innovations, trends, and best practices that are foundational to the industry today,' said his son William P. Lauder, chairman of the board of directors at The Estée Lauder Companies, in a prepared statement. 'He was the most charitable man I have ever known, believing that art and education belonged to everyone, and championing the fight against diseases such as Alzheimer's and breast cancer.
'Above all, my father was a man who practiced kindness with everyone he met. His impact was enormous. He believed that employees were the heart and soul of our company, and they adored him and moments spent with him,' William Lauder said.
In addition to his wife Judy and his son William, Mr. Lauder is survived by his son Gary M. Lauder and wife, Laura Lauder; five grandchildren, Rachel, Danielle, Djuna-Bear, Joshua, Eliana, two great-grandchildren, many stepchildren and step grandchildren, as well as his brother, Ronald S. Lauder, and wife, Jo Carole Lauder, and their daughters, Aerin Lauder and Jane Lauder.
A private service will be held for friends and family. Memorial donations may be made to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation. The Lauder Companies invite condolences at
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Cosmetics giant Leonard Lauder dies at 92
