The Lauder family is associated with Estée Lauder Companies, the American cosmetics company founded in 1946.
Estée Lauder and her husband, Joseph Lauder, started the company in New York with four skincare products. Estée Lauder promoted the idea of giving free demonstrations and samples, helping build a prestige beauty business through department stores. The portfolio later expanded to include Clinique, Aramis, M·A·C, Bobbi Brown and other brands.
The company became publicly traded in 1995, but the Lauder family has remained a major shareholder and influential force. Estée Lauder Companies is not the same business as the Estée Lauder brand: the corporation owns a wider collection of beauty labels, while Estée Lauder is one of its flagship brands.