The CEO of the Estée Lauder perfume empire lives in the canton of Schwyz. Born in New York in 1933, Leonard A. Lauder is the eldest son of Estée Lauder, founder of Estee Lauder Companies Inc.. The current world cosmetics leader is established in over 100 countries, employing some 10,000 people around the globe.
Leonard Lauder began his education at Pennsylvania's Wharton School and then went on to study at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, prior to his brief career as a lieutenant in the US Navy. In 1958, he was hired by the family business. He slowly rose up the ranks to become director, a position that earned him keys to an office on New York's prestigious Fifth Avenue.
Leonard Lauder now lives with his wife Evelyn in Lachen, in the central Swiss canton of Schwyz, because there is where he feels best. He manages the cosmetics empire from a family financial firm called the Estée Lauder Automatic Common Exchange Security Trust. He is now in the process of handing over blocks of the group's shares to his sons William P. and Gary M. Lauder.
Leonard Lauder's fortune is estimated between 6 and 7 billion Swiss francs, which is sometimes put towards corporate patronage and his art collection. The billionaire has been associated with the Whitney Museum of American Art since 1977, which won him an American Art Award in 1996.
His younger brother, Ronald S. Lauder, lives in Baar, in the canton of Zug. With his fortune of 7 to 8 billion, he invests in telecoms with his company RSL Communications. The 2 brothers have also created the Lauder Institute foundation for economics students.