Leonard Lauder, who for 17 years ran beauty behemoth Estée Lauder after his mother’s death, has died aged 92.
The American businessman was the eldest son of Estée Lauder, after whom the cosmetics brand she founded is named, and her husband Joseph.
Lauder, along with his much-younger brother Ronald, 81, inherited control of the company from their parents.
He was most recently estimated to be worth $32.3 billion, as of September 2021, making him at the time the 44th richest person in the world.
Lauder died on Saturday, the company said without specifying a cause of death.
Estée Lauder, the daughter of Hungarian Jewish immigrants to New York City, started the eponymous brand in 1946 and steadily built it over coming decades.
Lauder started at the company in 1958 when he was 25, eventually serving as its chief executive from 1982 to 1999.
The company girm from a family firm to a global giant under his leadership through a series of big acquisitions like MAC, Bobbi Brown and Aveda in 1980s and ’90s.
Estée Lauder now has two dozen brands and $15 billion a year in sales. The company is public, but the Lauder family has 86 per cent of voting rights and owns 38 per cent of shares.
More to come.
Leonard Lauder, Elizabeth Hurley, Sir Elton John and Shane Warne attend the Breast Cancer Foundation’s Hot Pink Party at Waldorf Astoria Hotel on April 30, 2012 in New York City
Leonard Lauder, who for 17 years ran beauty behemoth Estée Lauder after his mother’s death, has died aged 92
