On this day, October 14 in the year 1939, one of the world’s wealthiest fashion designers was born in New York, USA. His name is Ralph Lauren, the founder of Ralph Lauren Corporation. According to forbes.com, his net worth is $5.7 billion as of October, 2020.

Born as Ralph Lifshitz, he was one of four children of a Jewish immigrant couple, his father being a house painter and artist. He attended business at the City University of New York but dropped out after two years. He joined the US Army before he became a salesman for a necktie company.

In 1968, Ralph Lauren founded his own company with $50,000 borrowed capital. His initial products were neckties of his own design. A year later, he introduced his first line of “Polo” menswear. Then he added fragrances for both men and women. In 1971, he opened his first boutique at the Empire State Building in New York. After a decade, his first international branch was opened in London.

Ralph Lauren Corporation had its initial public offering in 1997. Previously, Goldman Sachs acquired a 28% stake in the company.

Ralph Lauren has investments in restaurants and is an avid collector of vintage cars which are now valued at over $300 million.

Ralph Lauren has 3 children with his wife Ricky Ann. In 2020, Ralph Lauren Corporation was ranked 469 in the Fortune 500 List with revenue of more than $6.1 billion and employees of over 20,500.

References
https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/ralph-lauren/
https://www.forbes.com/profile/ralph-lauren/
http://fortune.com/fortune500/ralph-lauren/