Passed Away at the Age of 92
Leonard Lauder, Honorary Chairman of Est?e Lauder. Est?e Lauder
Over the past 50 years, Leonard Lauder, Honorary Chairman of Est?e Lauder, led the company, increasing its sales more than 9,000-fold and transforming it into a global cosmetics corporation. He passed away at the age of 92.
According to Bloomberg News on the 15th (local time), Est?e Lauder announced in an official statement that Honorary Chairman Lauder passed away the previous day surrounded by his family.
Lauder inherited the company, which his parents had founded in New York in 1958, and drove its significant growth by launching or acquiring cosmetics brands such as Clinique, Aveda, MAC Cosmetics, Tom Ford Beauty, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone London, La Mer, and Lab Series.
When he joined the company, its annual sales were only $800,000 (approximately 1.1 billion KRW). However, by the time he stepped down as chairman in 2009, Est?e Lauder's sales had reached $7.3 billion (approximately 10 trillion KRW), about 9,125 times higher. On the first day of its initial public offering (IPO) in November 1995, the stock price surged by 33%.
His tremendous business success also led to a significant increase in his personal wealth. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in March 2023, his net worth was $26.2 billion (approximately 35.9 trillion KRW), making him one of the wealthiest individuals in New York.
In 2001, he gained recognition for introducing the economic indicator known as the "lipstick index." This concept suggests that even during economic downturns, cosmetics?especially lipstick?sales move inversely to the economy, a phenomenon called the "lipstick effect." In fact, in the fall of 2001, following the 9·11 terrorist attacks, lipstick sales in the United States increased by 11%. During the Great Depression, overall cosmetics sales reportedly rose by 25%.
In addition, he dedicated himself to philanthropy in the fields of art, education, diplomacy, and healthcare. He donated 78 Cubist works to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and served as Honorary Chairman of the Whitney Museum of American Art. He supported the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), founded by his first wife Evelyn, helping to spread the breast cancer awareness movement known as the "Pink Ribbon Campaign." He established a foundation for Alzheimer's drug development and created an emergency relief fund for employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
St?phane de La Faverie, CEO of Est?e Lauder, said, "Chairman Lauder was an icon who had a profound impact on the entire industry. His vision and warm leadership as a leader continue to this day."
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