Born Josephine Esther Mentzer in 1908, Estée Lauder is best known as the cofounder of Estée Lauder Companies and a pioneering entrepreneur whose success paved the way for many of today's female founders. Today, Estée Lauder is the world's second-largest cosmetics brand, with a market cap exceeding $25M as of May 2026.
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Without a large advertising budget, Lauder focused her marketing strategy on making high-quality products that women would love enough to tell their friends about. Those friends would later inevitably buy Estée Lauder products.
The newest Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, is married to Jane Lauder, who served as Estée Lauder Companies' chief data officer until late 2024. Her stake in Estée Lauder Companies is part of what makes Warsh the richest Fed chair on record.
Despite her humble upbringing, Estée Lauder's love of beauty and glamour helped propel her social climb. Lauder became friends with many elites over the course of her life—including the late Princess Diana—owned homes in the Hamptons and the South of France, and turned her family business into a cosmetic empire. (Some users may experience a paywall.)
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