Leonard Lauder, who expanded his Jewish family’s business into a cosmetics empire, dies at 92
As CEO of the Estée Lauder Companies, he generated a fortune that supported his philanthropy in the arts and his brother Ronald’s support for Jewish causes
Under Leonard Lauder’s leadership, 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. (Estee Lauder Companies)
By Andrew Silow-Carroll June 16, 2025
(JTA) —
Leonard A. Lauder, who helped build his Jewish family’s business into a cosmetic empire and a significant driver of philanthropy, Jewish and otherwise, died at his home in Manhattan on June 14 at the age of 92.
As president of The Estée Lauder Companies from 1972 to 1995 and as CEO from 1982 through 1999, he “was the driving force behind The Estée Lauder Companies’ international expansion,” the company said in a statement announcing his death.
Leonard Lauder would draw on that success to become a major patron of the arts, at one point donating a collection of paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York valued at more than $1 billion. Meanwhile, his younger brother Ronald would tap the family fortune to become a force in Jewish philanthropy, chairing the World Jewish Congress and, through the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, supporting Jewish life in Eastern Europe in its pivotal transition in the post-Soviet era.
“Leonard was a wonderful brother and a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, colleague, and friend. But his legacy extends far beyond being the heart of our family,” Ronald Lauder said in a statement. “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. His passion and generosity have inspired us all, and there are no words to express how much he will be missed.”
The family’s journey was a remarkable rise from their middle-class upbringing: Their mother Estée, the Queens-born daughter of Jewish immigrants, helped turn a modest family business into a juggernaut of beauty products and perfumes. Born in 1933 (Ronald was born in 1944), Leonard was a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy before formally joining Estée Lauder in 1958.
“For more than six decades, Mr. Lauder was a visionary and an innovator, 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,” the company said in a statement.
Lauder was a long-time advocate of cancer research and served as honorary chairman of the board of directors at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the organization his late wife, Evelyn H. Lauder, founded in 1993. She died in 2011.
In 2015, Lauder married Judy Glickman Lauder, a photographer whose work includes portraits of Danish rescuers and the Jewish survivors they helped save during the Holocaust.
Lauder is survived by his wife; his sons William and Gary; five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, many stepchildren and step grandchildren, as well as his brother. Their mother died in 2004.
