Ralph Lauren is a famous American fashion designer, businessman, philanthropist and auto mobile enthusiast. Just as the name of the person suggests, he is best known for the multi-billion dollar fashion line or the fashion organisation, Ralph Lauren Organisation. Lauren resigned from the duty of the Chief Executive Officer of the brand back in 2015 but still has the powers as the Executive Chairman.
He is a self-made billionaire and was brought up in a modest family with the necessary upbringing. Apart from being an entrepreneur and fashion designer, Lauren is also well known for his philanthropic activities and his automobile collection, some of which have even been displayed in a number of museums.
Early life and education
Ralph Lauren was born on October 14, 1939 in The Bronx, New York as Ralph Lifshitz which he later changed to Lauren. He was born to Frieda Lifshitz and Frank Lifshitz who were Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants. His mother worked as an artist while his father was a house painter. He has three other siblings who are older than him, two brothers and a sister.
Lauren pursued his education from a day school and later switched to Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy which was just known as MAU back then. He graduated his high school from DeWitt Clinton High School in the year 1957. He had a childhood where he liked to fantasize himself being a superhero and even idolised a lot of celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and even Joe DiMaggio.
Lauren was one of the best basketball players back in his school days and was also engaged in baseball. After finishing high school, Lauren attended the Baruch College which is part of the City University of New York where he studied business but later dropped out of college.
Ralph Lauren – Wife and children
- Ralph married Ricky Anne Loew-Beer who is the daughter of the famous Rudolph Loew-Beer on December 20, 1964. The couple met in a doctor’s office where Ricky worked as a receptionist and they tied the knots six months later.
- The couple have three children together, Andrew Lauren who is a famous film producer and actor, David Lauren and Dylan Lauren.
Career
Lauren started his professional career as an army man where he worked in the United States Army for two years between 1962 till 1964. He then left the army to work as a sales assistant in the Brooks Brothers followed by working as a salesman for a tie company. It was after a lot of convincing by Lauren to the tie manufacturer he worked for, Beau Brummell that he got the permission to start his own line for tie manufacturing. Ralph Lauren was formed in 1967.
Different brands launched
After launching Ralph Lauren in 1967 with men’s ties, Lauren didn’t stop there and rather stepped up the game and started spreading his business.
Polo
The first full fashion line for menswear was named as “Polo” owing to Lauren’s interest and love for sports. The brand was launched in 1968 after a lot of hard work and thoughts. During the initial days after the launch, Lauren himself made all the deliveries of the clothes to the store himself. It was later in 1969 that the famous store in Manhattan, Bloomingdale’s showcased his collection and gave him his own in-store boutique.
Later after gaining popularity and good brand name, Lauren wanted to test the waters and launched the women’s wear in 1971 and also opened the first store of Ralph Lauren in the same year in Beverly Hills in California. It was later in 1974 that his company got the contract to dress up the male characters in the famous The Great Gatsby following by the film The Annie Hall three years later.
Fragrance
Lauren launched his first fragrance in the year 1978 which was produced by Warner-Lauren Ltd. the company named the women’s and men’s perfume as Lauren and Polo and was launched on March 12 and March 26, 1978 respectively.
Ralph Lauren – Car Collection
Lauren has a weird and crazy obsession with the automobile and owns some of the best antique cars known to man, some of which are even kept in the museum for display. He has over 70 automobiles in total. He owns some of the rarest of the lot and his cars have even won the title of the Best in Show from the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance twice.
Some of the most popular ones that he owns include the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, a Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing, a 1929 Bentley 41/2 litre and even a Porsche, Bugatti and the list simply goes on.
Ralph Lauren – Net Worth
Ralph Lauren has an estimated net worth of $5.7 billion. The billionaire owns a number of houses and offices to die for. Some of the most talked about being the multi-million dollar houses in Bedford, New York and Colorado including the Manhattan office that he owns.
