Leonard Lauder, arts patron and billionaire heir of Estée Lauder Companies, died on Saturday at 92.

Remembered as an innovative thinker and a connoisseur of the arts, Lauder was born in 1933 to Joseph Lauter and Josephine Esther Mentzer, the founders of the Estée Lauder Companies cosmetic firm. The descendant of Jewish immigrants to New York, the first-born Lauder grew up alongside the budding business. He earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Pennsylvania and served in the U.S. Navy before eventually joining Estée Lauder Companies in 1958. Alongside his parents, he helped scale the company from making under $1 million in sales annually to a multi-billion dollar prestige brand. 

Lauder went on to become a giant in American philanthropy — gifting over $2 billion throughout his lifetime — particularly focused on science, education and the arts.

As an influential art collector and patron, in 2013, Lauder famously gifted over $1 billion in cubist paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art — one of the most significant gifts in the museum’s history, according to The New York Times. In 2008, Lauder, a longtime chairman and chairman emeritus of the Whitney Museum of American Art, donated $131 million to support the museum’s endowment.

In 2023, Leonard and his brother, Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress and longtime donor to Jewish causes — and their children — pledged $200 million to the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) to bolster scientific research for treatment and prevention of the disease. 

“Leonard Lauder was a once-in-a-generation visionary whose leadership, along with his brother Ronald, reshaped the Alzheimer’s research landscape,” Dr. Howard Fillit, co-Founder and chief science officer of the ADDF, said in a statement. 

Ronald Lauder did not immediately make a public comment about his brother’s death, but the World Jewish Congress issued a statement mourning him.

“The World Jewish Congress mourns the loss of Leonard A. Lauder, a towering figure in American philanthropy, business, and the arts. A steadfast supporter of Jewish life and global humanitarian causes, Mr. Lauder led with quiet strength, vision, and unwavering generosity,” WJC executive vice president, Maram Stern, said in a statement. “He was a lifelong advocate for education, cultural preservation, and medical innovation, and his contributions enriched countless institutions around the world.”  

Lauder was known for his acumen and for bringing a personal touch to all aspects of business. In his memoir The Company I Keep: My Life In Beauty, published in 2020, he wrote about the importance of uplifting women in business, inspired by his mother. “Never make an important decision without a woman at the table,” wrote Lauder. “Growing up with a mother like Estée Lauder, how could I not respect and seek out smart, tough women?”

Lauder served as the Estée Lauder Company’s president from 1972 to 1995, CEO from 1982 through 1999 and as chairman from 1995 until 2009. According to a statement from Estée Lauder companies, Lauder remained a “constant fixture,” at the global headquarters and around the world until his death.  

“To our employees at The Estée Lauder Companies, he was an inspiration and a champion. To the industry, he was an icon and pioneer, earning respect worldwide,” Estée Lauder’s president and CEO Stéphane de La Faverie said in a statement. “He was a deeply compassionate leader who cared profoundly about every person in the company. I feel privileged to have worked with Leonard, who has been the best mentor I could have dreamt to learn from.” 

He is survived by his wife, Judy Glickman Lauder, and his sons William and Gary.