William Lauder
The grandson of Estée Lauder and son of Leonard Lauder, William served as the president and CEO of the Estée Lauder Companies from 2004 to 2009.
Born into cosmetics royalty—his grandmother was Estée Lauder, the Queens native who started the beauty company in 1946—William spent his college years at Wharton. He didn't join the family business immediately: He started out at Macy's as a management trainee and merchandising manager before arriving at Estée Lauder's Clinique division as a marketing manager. Several years later he moved over to Origins, eventually becoming president of the division. He was named CEO of the company in 2004. As the head of the largest cosmetics company in the U.S., William expanded Estée Lauder's presence in emerging markets like China, India and South Africa and spearheaded deals with P. Diddy, Beyoncé, and Tom Ford, part of a mission to make the company's brands relevant to a new generation of consumers. Unfortunately, his efforts failed to bear much fruit: Sales continued the stay flat during William's reign as CEO, taking a dip in 2007 much to the dismay of shareholders. With shareholders demanding more accountability, William announced in November 2007 that former Procter & Gamble exec Fabrizio Freda had signed on as president and chief operating officer and would succeed him as CEO within the next two years. William eventually turned over the reins in 2009, although William continues to serve as chairman of the board of directors.
William was married to Karen Lauder, an occasional film producer, for more than 23 years. The two divorced in 2009, after it was revealed that he had fathered a baby with his longtime girlfriend, Taylor Stein, two years prior. (Stein is the daughter of nightlife impresario, and former Xenon and Au Bar owner, Howard Stein). [Image via Getty]