| Ralph Lauren | |
|---|---|
Ralph Lauren
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| Born | Ralph Lifshitz October 14, 1939 The Bronx, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Baruch College |
| Net worth |  US$6 billion (March 2016) |
| Board member of | Polo Ralph Lauren Club Monaco |
| Spouse(s) | Ricky Ann Low-Beer (m. 1964) |
| Children | 3, including Dylan and David Lauren |
Ralph Lauren (
i/ˈrælf ˈlɔːrən/; born Ralph Lifshitz; October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and business executive, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has also become well known for his collection of rare automobiles, some of which have been displayed in museum exhibits. Lauren stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of the company in September 2015 but remains its Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer. As of October 2016, Forbes estimates his wealth at $5.5 billion, which makes Ralph Lauren the 233rd richest person in the world.
Early life
Ralph Lauren was born in The Bronx, New York City, to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants, Frieda (Cutler) and Frank Lifshitz, an artist and house painter, from Pinsk, Belarus. He is the youngest of four siblings – two brothers and one sister.
Lauren attended day school followed by MTA (now known as the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy), before eventually graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957. He grew up playing basketball and baseball. He wanted to be Joe DiMaggio, and then he wanted to be a movie star. Lauren constantly draws inspiration from his heroes including Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, and John F. Kennedy. He went to Baruch College, at the City University of New York (CUNY) where he studied business, although he dropped out after two years.
Career
Early career
From 1962 to 1964 he served in the United States Army and left to work briefly for Brooks Brothers as a sales assistant before becoming a salesman for a tie company. The Ralph Lauren Corporation started in 1967 with men’s ties. At 28 years-old, Lauren worked for the tie manufacturer Beau Brummell, where he convinced the company’s president to let him start his own line.
Ralph Lauren has a long history of working with important American figures. The designer’s most recent credits include dressing first lady Melania Trump for the 2017 inauguration.
Trump wore a powder blue Ralph Lauren suit, which many compared to the pale blue suit that Jackie Kennedy wore to her husband’s inauguration in 1961. Ralph Lauren also designed the cream-colored suit that Hillary Clinton donned for the 2017 inauguration.
Ralph Lauren is a name synonymous with American fashion. His net worth is now estimated to be nearly $6 billion, according to Forbes. And yet, the story of how he built one of the largest fashion companies in the world from nothing isn’t quite so well-known.
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