The Lauder family owns and controls Estée Lauder Companies, founded by Estée and Joseph Lauder.
Estée Lauder Companies began in New York in 1946, when Estée Lauder and her husband, Joseph, launched the business with four skincare products. The company expanded from department-store counters into a multinational portfolio of beauty brands, including Clinique, MAC, and La Mer.
The family’s influence comes through substantial share ownership and superior voting rights, not simply from the Estée Lauder name appearing on the cosmetics brand. Estée and Joseph Lauder had two sons, Leonard and Ronald, who helped build the company’s international reach. Estée Lauder Companies is distinct from L’Oréal, the French beauty group founded by Eugène Schueller.