Ronald Lauder

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Ronald Steven Lauder (born February 26, 1944 in New York City) is an American businessman, civic leader, philanthropist, and art collector. Forbes lists Lauder among the richest people of the world with an estimated net worth of $3.0 billion in 2007.[1]

Image:Ronald-Lauder.jpg
Ronald S. Lauder in January 2008

Contents

[edit] Biography

Lauder is the son of Estée Lauder and Joseph Lauder, founders of Estée Lauder Companies, and the younger brother of Leonard Lauder, chairman of the board of the Estee Lauder company. He attended the Bronx High School of Science and holds a Bachelors degree in International Business from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

He studied at the University of Paris, and received a Certificate in International Business from the University of Brussels. He is married and has two children. Lauder started to work for the Estee Lauder Company in 1964. In 1984 he became a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO policy at The Pentagon.

In 1986 Ronald Reagan named him as the US ambassador to Austria, a position he held until 1987. As a Republican, he made a bid to become the mayor of New York City in 1989, losing to Rudy Giuliani in the Republican primary. Lauder manages investments in real estate and media, such as Central European Media Enterprises and Israeli TV.

His daughter Jane is married to Kevin Warsh, a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. [2]

[edit] Civic and philanthropic activities

In 1987, Lauder established the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, a philanthropic organization that is dedicated to rebuild Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe. The foundation also supports student exchange programs between New York and various capitals in Central and Eastern Europe.

Lauder led a movement to introduce term limits in the New York City Council, which were imposed on City Council members after citywide referendum in 1993. In 1996, voters turned down a Council proposal to extend term limits. Lauder spent $4 million on the two referendums.

Lauder has been instrumental in some cases of recovering “lost” art from the Nazi period.[3] However, he has been broadly criticized for failing to step forward and resolve a case involving the Museum of Modern Art, which in 1997 exhibited some paintings owned by Rudolph Leopold, a Viennese doctor. An investigative article in the New York Times on Dec. 24, 1997 — "A Singular Passion for Amassing Art, One Way or Another" — outlined a case involving Portrait of Wally by Egon Schiele, which was in the MoMA exhibition but was obtained by Leopold soon after the Nazi era. The Manhattan DA stepped in to help restore the piece to descendants of its owner, but ownership of the painting is still in contention, nearly 10 years later. Lauder did nothing on the case, despite being MoMA chairman at the time.[4]

On November 16, 2001 Lauder opened the Neue Galerie in New York, an art museum dedicated to art from Germany and Austria from the early 20th century. It holds one of the best collections of works by Egon Schiele in the world. On June 18, 2006, he purchased the painting Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt for $135 million, the highest price ever paid for a painting at that time. The picture is the centerpiece of the museum's collection.

Lauder is actively involved in numerous civic organizations, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Jewish National Fund, the World Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Theological Seminary, Brandeis University, and the Abraham Fund. With his brother he founded the Lauder Institute at Wharton School. Lauder has also served as a Finance Chairman of the New York State Republican Committee.

Lauder was elected President of the World Jewish Congress on June 10, 2007, beating the South African businessman Mendel Kaplan and Einat Wilf of Israel by a clear margin. As WJC President, he has met with a number of heads of state and government, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Pope Benedict XVI, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany and Swiss President Pascal Couchepin. Lauder has been strongly critical of business deals by European energy firms with Iran and called for stronger UN sanctions because of Tehran's threat against Israel and its nuclear program.

Despite his commitment to the recovery of "lost" Holocaust art, Lauder has been accused by Holocaust survivors and their families of not disclosing art that belonged to Holocaust victims.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Forbes Magazine, The World's Billionaires, 03.08.07
  2. ^ Stanford Alumni News, Kevin M. Warsh, '92 - The Governor Is In
  3. ^ Statement by Lauder about art recovery
  4. ^ The New York Times, "Man in the Middle of the Schiele Case," Jan. 25, 1998.
  5. ^ The Forward, Shoah Suit Puts Scrutiny On Lauder’s Art Collection, By Nathaniel Popper, Fri. Feb 10, 2006

[edit] See also

[edit] Book

  • Lauder, RS. Fighting Violent Crime in America. Dodd Mead (April 1985). ISBN 0-396-08495-8

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Diane McGrath		 Conservative Nominee for Mayor of New York City
1989		 Succeeded by
George Marlin