Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren (/ˈlɔːrən/ 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 May 2025, his net worth is estimated at US$11.9 billion.

Lauren was born on October 14, 1939, in the Bronx, New York City, to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants Frieda Lifshitz (née Cutler) and Frank Lifshitz (né Efraim Lifshitz), an artist and house painter, from Pinsk, Second Polish Republic (now Belarus). His mother was from Drohiczyn, Second Polish Republic (now Drahichyn, 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 bullying in the U.S. Air Force.

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.

He 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, the shirt became emblematic of the preppy look—one of Ralph Lauren's signature styles. The tagline for the ad campaign was: "Every team has its color – Polo has seventeen."