Ronald Lauder

Ronald Lauder
Ronald Lauder
Born	February 26, 1944 (age 82); New York City, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, philanthropist, activist
Known for	Heir to Estée Lauder Companies; president of the World Jewish Congress; founder of Neue Galerie

Ronald Steven Lauder (born February 26, 1944) is a prominent American entrepreneur and advocate for pro-Israel causes. Together with his brother, Leonard Lauder, he is the exclusive heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics empire, originally established by their parents, Estée Lauder and Joseph Lauder, in 1946.

As reported by Forbes, Lauder's net worth was estimated at $4.7 billion in May 2025, placing him at number 796 on Forbes' list of billionaires.

Early life and education

Born into a Jewish family in New York City, Lauder is the son of Estée and Joseph Lauder, founders of the Estée Lauder Companies. He is the younger sibling of Leonard Lauder, who serves as chairman of the board.

Lauder completed his secondary education at the Bronx High School of Science before earning a bachelor's degree in International Business from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Furthering his studies abroad, he attended the University of Paris and earned a Certificate in International Business from the University of Brussels.

Career

Starting his career at the Estée Lauder Company in 1964, Lauder took charge of the international division. By 1984, he had been appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO affairs within the United States Department of Defense.

In 1986, he was named United States Ambassador to Austria by President Ronald Reagan, a position he held until 1987. During this period, he dismissed diplomat Felix Bloch, who was later connected to the Robert Hanssen espionage scandal.

A member of the Republican party, Lauder sought the Republican nomination for mayor of New York City in 1989 but was defeated by Rudy Giuliani. His campaign was overseen by Roger Ailes and Arthur Finkelstein. Politically, he adopted a stance to the right of Giuliani and openly supported the Likud party and Benjamin Netanyahu. He personally contributed $14 million to his mayoral bid. In 1994, he successfully spearheaded efforts to enact term limits for the mayoral office.

In 1998, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tasked Lauder with initiating informal Track II negotiations with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. Through these efforts, Lauder conveyed Assad’s openness to potential compromises involving territorial concessions for peace. His proposed "Treaty of Peace Between Israel and Syria" played a key role in talks held in January 2000 in Shepherdstown, West Virginia; however, these discussions did not result in an agreement.

Lauder oversees investments spanning real estate and media sectors, including stakes in Central European Media Enterprises and Israeli television networks. In 2010, he established RWL Water, LLC.

He also contributed to U.S. strategic deliberations by proposing to former President Donald Trump the idea of acquiring Greenland, a suggestion that received consideration at high levels within the White House.

Civic and philanthropic activities

Lauder has actively participated in numerous organizations such as the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Jewish National Fund, World Jewish Congress, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbinical College of America, Brandeis University, and the Abraham Fund. Together with his brother, he founded the Lauder Institute at Wharton. Additionally, he served as finance chairman for the New York Republican State Committee.

In 2003, Lauder established and assumed presidency of the Lauder Business School located in Vienna, Austria.

He led initiatives that brought about term limits for members of the New York City Council, which were enacted following a referendum in 1993. To support these measures, Lauder invested $4 million across two separate referendums.

Art

On November 16, 2001, Lauder inaugurated the Neue Galerie, a museum in New York dedicated to early 20th-century German and Austrian art, housing one of the most exceptional collections of Egon Schiele's work worldwide.

In 2006, he acquired Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt from the family of Maria Altmann for $135 million, marking the highest amount ever paid for a painting at that time. Lauder referred to it as "Our Mona Lisa". After prolonged legal battles concerning Nazi-looted art, this painting was restituted and now serves as a highlight of the museum’s exhibits.

Additionally, Lauder possesses the largest private assemblage of medieval and Renaissance armor globally.

During his tenure as chairman at MoMA, he encountered criticism over unresolved ownership disputes related to Portrait of Wally by Egon Schiele, which involved controversies about its provenance during the Nazi era.

He holds an honorary trusteeship at the World Monuments Fund, an organization committed to safeguarding endangered cultural heritage sites around the world.

In 1987, Lauder founded the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation with the goal of revitalizing Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe and facilitating student exchange programs between New York and major European cities.

Together with his brother Leonard A. Lauder, he co-established the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation in 1998 to expedite research into Alzheimer's treatments; he continues to serve as co-chairman.

In 2019, Lauder acquired the majority of artifacts from The International Museum of World War II. However, plans to maintain the museum’s operation during its relocation were later discontinued.

In 2020, he gifted 91 pieces of arms and armor to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, representing its most substantial donation since 1942. Consequently, the Arms and Armor galleries were named in his honor.

President of the World Jewish Congress

Lauder was chosen as president of the World Jewish Congress on June 10, 2007, succeeding Edgar Bronfman, Sr., defeating South African businessman Mendel Kaplan and Israeli politician Einat Wilf by a significant margin.

In May 2008, President George W. Bush appointed him to an honorary delegation celebrating Israel's 60th anniversary.

He publicly condemned the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and in July 2025 called for reopening the World Jewish Congress lawsuit against Swiss banks over allegations that Credit Suisse (now part of UBS) concealed documents concerning accounts belonging to Nazi victims. Lauder asserted that the initial $1.29 billion settlement should have been increased by up to $10 billion.

Jewish activism

In July 2009, Lauder called on Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone to step down following Ecclestone’s praise of Adolf Hitler in an interview. He urged racing teams and host nations to suspend their collaboration with Ecclestone. After widespread criticism, Ecclestone issued an apology.

In December 2009, he opposed the Roman Curia’s decision to declare Pope Pius XII’s heroic virtues without granting access to Vatican archives from 1939–1945.

Writing in 2011, Lauder advocated for Israel’s inclusion in NATO as a means to secure robust defense assurances amid instability in the Middle East.

He has been outspoken against anti-Semitism, reproaching Swedish officials for permitting hatred and condemning Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung for reviving anti-Semitic stereotypes in 2012. The same year, Lauder criticized Austrian politicians for not denouncing FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache’s posting of an anti-Semitic cartoon. The Vienna Israelite Community temporarily banned Lauder over accusations of election interference; this conflict was resolved by January 2013.

Lauder has strongly opposed European energy companies’ dealings with Iran due to concerns about Israel’s security. In 2008, he criticized Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey’s trip to Tehran supporting a gas agreement with Iran and spearheaded efforts urging European firms such as Siemens to cease business activities with Iran.

In February 2018, he denounced Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s assertion that Jews were complicit in Holocaust atrocities as both anti-Semitic and historical revisionism.

In 2019, Lauder launched the Antisemitism Accountability Project (ASAP), which funds campaigns opposing candidates who endorse antisemitic views.

According to an October 2023 report by The Washington Examiner, Lauder stopped funding the University of Pennsylvania due to concerns about antisemitism following Hamas attacks on Israel.

Conservative activism and financial contributions

In 2016, Lauder contributed $1.1 million to Secure America Now (SAN), an organization that broadcast anti-Muslim advertisements in swing states prior to the U.S. elections. He later distanced himself from these ads, clarifying that his donation was intended to oppose the Iran nuclear agreement and affirming his commitment to "interfaith respect and dialogue." These advertisements reportedly sought to increase voter turnout among supporters of Donald Trump.

As a long-established Republican supporter, Lauder has donated more than $1.6 million since 2016 to groups backing Trump, including a $200,000 contribution to Trump's 2020 presidential campaign. He was present at the 2025 Trump inauguration and in 2019 suggested the United States consider purchasing Greenland, offering to facilitate the deal—a proposal Denmark ultimately declined. This episode is detailed in the 2022 publication The Divider by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser.

In 2020, Lauder provided $1.7 million to an independent expenditure committee opposing criminal justice reform initiatives in New York. By 2023, he had contributed $8,000 to the Nikki Haley 2024 presidential campaign. While his brother supported Kathy Hochul’s 2022 gubernatorial bid, Lauder himself donated $11 million to her Republican challenger, Lee Zeldin. In 2025, he gave $5 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC.

Israel activism

Lauder has been a steadfast public advocate for Israel and is recognized as an ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In May 2012, he condemned Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore for suggesting an EU-wide ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, labeling such boycott initiatives as "cynical and hypocritical." Lauder highlighted that the status of West Bank territories remains legally contested and identified groups like Hezbollah and Hamas as the primary sources of regional instability.

During a June 2011 address to the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians, Lauder reportedly criticized Netanyahu for lacking a diplomatic strategy ahead of the UN vote on Palestinian statehood and for imposing conditions on peace negotiations. Nevertheless, in June 2012, he publicly called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to restart dialogue by placing a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal advocating renewed negotiations.

Channel 10

Lauder has significantly influenced Israeli media through his investments in commercial television, notably Channel 10.

In September 2011, reports emerged that Lauder pressured Channel 10 leadership to issue a personal apology to businessman Sheldon Adelson regarding a broadcast aired in January 2011. The statement declared that the allegations were "completely false," prompting the resignation of several senior journalists who criticized Lauder’s interference. In light of these developments, Lauder reconsidered his financial backing, threatening the channel’s viability beyond October 2011.

On November 3, 2011, The Second Authority for Television and Radio determined that the apology was justified and found no proof of shareholder intervention in editorial decisions or in drafting the apology itself.

Personal life

Lauder is wed to Jo Carole (Knopf) Lauder, and together they have two daughters, Aerin and Jane. Jane is married to Kevin Warsh, who previously served on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

In 1985, Lauder authored the book Fighting Violent Crime in America.

A 2007 feature in The New Yorker highlighted Lauder's various residences, which include three properties in Manhattan: a townhouse located on East 70th Street, the Rockefeller Guest House on East 52nd Street, and an apartment at 740 Park Avenue. He also possesses homes in Florida, London, Paris, and Wainscott on Long Island. The Rockefeller Guest House, designed by Philip Johnson and purchased by Lauder in 2000 for $11 million, was sold in December 2023.

Honors

2011: Awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy
2018: Received the Andrey Sheptytsky Medal
2018: Honored with the Harvey Prize (presented in 2019)

External links

World Jewish Congress
Lauder Institute
Chairman Ronald S. Lauder of the Jewish National Fund
President Ronald S. Lauder of the World Jewish Congress, elected June 2007
Profile at Central European Media Enterprises
RWL Water Group
Profile at Forbes
Ronald Lauder news coverage at The New York Observer