Leonard Lauder, billionaire heir to cosmetics empire, dies at 92

Leonard Lauder, the eldest son of cosmetics pioneers Estée and Joseph H. Lauder and the former head of cosmetics giant Estée Lauder Companies, seen here in New York on May 5, 2014 has died age 92, according to an announcement by the company. Dennis Van Tine/PA Images/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

Leonard Lauder, the eldest son of cosmetics pioneers Estée and Joseph H. Lauder and the former head of cosmetics giant Estée Lauder Companies, died on Saturday, according to an announcement by the company. He was 92.

“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,” Leonard’s son William P. Lauder, who serves as chairman of the company’s board of directors, said in the statement.

Born to a Jewish family in New York City, Leonard Lauder as a boy would join his mother on sales calls in salons and helped her pack boxes of powder and cleansing oils. He would later attend and graduate from Columbia University’s School of Business after serving as a lieutenant in the US Navy for three years.

He formally joined Estée Lauder at age 25 in 1958, when the company had just a handful of employees and under $1 million in sales.

Estée Lauder Companies would grow into a global empire with a portfolio that includes Clinique, La Mer, The Ordinary, MAC Cosmetics and Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.

Among his many roles included serving as president for 23 years, beginning in 1972, and chief executive from 1982 to 1999. He was named chairman in 1995 and held the role until 2009, according to the company.

In 1995, Lauder took the company public on the New York Stock Exchange at $26 a share. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) now has a market capitalization of about $24.3 billion. According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, Lauder had a personal net worth of $15.6 billion.

When asked what he would want to be remembered for during a 2020 interview with CBS News, Lauder replied: “He listened … and he was kind.”

Within 24 hours of meeting Lauder, one could expect intimate, often handwritten, notes from the beauty pioneer. It was a sales technique that resembled the professional style of his mother, who was also known for believing business was about developing and maintaining relationships and making people feel important.

“At the beginning, we never advertised … we gave out samples,” he told David Rubenstein, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group, in 2021. “We gave out samples that were large enough. If you give a customer a sample of a product and they like it, they come back and buy it again and again and again— that’s what builds the business.”

Lauder has been credited with creating “the lipstick index” during the economic downturn following the attacks on September 11, 2001. He noticed that the purchase of cosmetics, especially lipsticks, tended to be inversely related to the economy because women replaced more expensive purchases with small pick-me-ups. In the fall of 2001, US lipstick sales increased by 11%. And back during the Great Depression, cosmetics sales overall increased by 25%.

Lauder was also a devoted philanthropist and art collector. In 2013, he pledged a 78-piece collection of cubist art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City — the largest single philanthropic gift in the Met’s history, according to Estée Lauder. He also established a research center for modern art at the Met, which supported fellowships, exhibitions and public lectures.

He was also an advocate of cancer research and served as an honorary chairman on the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s board of directors. In 1998, Lauder and his brother, Ronald S. Lauder, founded the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, which supports drug research to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer’s.

“His impact will be felt for generations to come thanks to his tireless philanthropy, advocacy, and creativity in tackling some of the world’s greatest challenges. The number of lives he touched and positively impacted across all his endeavors is immeasurable,” said Ronald Lauder, 81, who serves as chairman of Clinique Laboratories.

The company’s founding family remains the biggest shareholder in the firm, and three members serve on the board of directors.

He is survived by his wife, Judy Glickman Lauder, and his sons William and Gary.