Background and career
Ralph Lauren ( LOR-ən; né Lifshitz; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped down as CEO of the company in September 2015 but remains executive chairman and chief creative officer. As of June 2026, his net worth is estimated at US$15.2 billion.
Lauren was born on October 14, 1939, in the Bronx, New York City, the son of Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants Frieda Lifshitz (née Cutler) and Frank Lifshitz (né Efraim Lifshitz), an artist and house painter, from Pinsk, Belarus. The youngest of four siblings, he has two brothers and one sister. At the age of 16, he and his brother George Poitras Lauren legally changed their last name from Lifshitz to Lauren, due to bullying at school. His choice of the name followed his older brother Jerry Lauren, who had first done so after experiencing 'humorous mispronunciations at roll call.' Lauren attended day school followed by the Manhattan Talmudical Academy, before eventually graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957. He attended Baruch College of the City University of New York (CUNY), where he studied business, although he dropped out after two years. Lauren was one of several design leaders raised in the Jewish community in the Bronx, along with Calvin Klein and Robert Denning.
From 1962 to 1964, Lauren served in the United States Army. After his discharge, he worked briefly for Brooks Brothers as a sales assistant before becoming a salesman for Rivetz, a necktie company. At age 28, working for tie manufacturer Beau Brummell, Lauren convinced the company president to let him start his own line. He launched The Ralph Lauren Corporation in 1967 with men's ties.
Lauren named his first full line of menswear Polo in 1968. He worked out of a single "drawer" from a showroom in the Empire State Building and made deliveries to stores himself. By 1969, the Manhattan department store Bloomingdale's had built a Polo shop-in-shop boutique.
In 1971, Ralph Lauren Corporation launched a line of tailored shirts for women, which introduced the Polo player emblem to the world for the first time, appearing on the shirt's cuff. The first full women's collection was launched the following year. In 1971 Lauren also opened a store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California; this was the first freestanding store for an American designer. In 1972, the Ralph Lauren Corporation introduced a signature cotton mesh Polo shirt in various colors. Featuring the polo player logo at the chest, based on an image of Bennie Gutierrez, the shirt became emblematic of the preppy look which was one of Ralph Lauren's signature styles. The tagline for the ad campaign was: "Every team has its color—Polo has seventeen." In 1974, Lauren outfitted the male cast of the film The Great Gatsby in costumes from his Polo line: a 1920s-style series of men's suits and sweaters; and a pink suit that was designed by Lauren especially for Robert Redford's Jay Gatsby. In 1977, Diane Keaton and Woody Allen wore Lauren's clothes throughout Allen's film Annie Hall. Demonstrated by Lauren's preppy brand style, Lauren's work is heavily influenced by the aesthetics of the British aristocracy, country life and traditional craftsmanship; the brand consistently incorporates English country style, including cricket sweaters, equestrian themes and collaborations with traditional British mills. Lauren has stated that while American fashion often focuses on the new, his work aims to emulate the British appreciation for heritage, where items are cherished and passed down. Lauren, an Anglophile, has said, "I’ve always loved England because it was non-fashion.... It was timeless. It was not about what was the latest new sleekness. It was about weathering and those things that get better with age."
The first Ralph Lauren fragrances, produced by Warner-Lauren, Ltd. were launched at Bloomingdale's in March 1978. Lauren, a fragrance for women, on March 12 and Polo, cologne for men, on March 26. This was the first time that a designer had introduced two fragrances—one for men and one for women—simultaneously.
