Estee Lauder chairman emeritus made company a global cosmetics empire

Leonard Lauder (right, in a 2018 photo), who built Estee Lauder into one of the world's biggest cosmetics makers and catapulted himself into the top echelon of wealthiest New Yorkers, has died. He was 92.

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NEW YORK –

He died on June 14 surrounded by family, according to a statement by Estee Lauder.

In almost 40 years running the New York-based company founded by his parents, Mr Lauder oversaw the launch or acquisition of brands such as Clinique, Aveda, Tom Ford Beauty, Bobbi Brown and La Mer. He took the company public in 1995, and its share price rose 33 per cent on the first day of trading.

One of his quirkier creations was the notion that lipstick sales can serve as a countercyclical economic indicator, because women turn to inexpensive cosmetics when they cannot afford clothing and other bigger-ticket luxuries.

When Mr Lauder joined the family company in 1958, annual revenue was about US$800,000, he said. In 2009, the year he stepped down as chairman, it topped US$7.3 billion.