Lauder, Estée

orig. Josephine Esther Mentzer

(born July 1, 1908?, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died April 24, 2004, New York) U.S. entrepreneur. She founded Estée Lauder, Inc., with her husband, Joseph, in 1946. Their innovative marketing techniques led to huge success from the 1960s on. Her son Leonard was named chief executive officer in 1982. The company's fragrance and cosmetics products, including Clinique cosmetics, Aramis men's products, as well as specialty lines such as Bobbi Brown, Origins, and Aveda, are sold in more than 130 countries. By the early 21st century the company was worth about $10 billion.

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