–
Leonard Lauder and Linda Johnson / Getty
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at office@jewishbusinessnews.com.
Thank you.
–
It seems breaking up is not always hard to do. Leonard Lauder, Chairman Emeritus of cosmetics giant Estée Lauder, and his longstanding partner, Linda Johnson, are reported to have just agreed to an amicable breakup and report they will stay friends.
In August the pair were due to marry, but then postponed the wedding just before the day – but not the honeymoon, going off together to Sardinia anyway, just to be alone together and to sort things through.
The couple had started dating some time after Lauder’s wife of 52 years Evelyn died of cancer in 2011.
Now, just before the holiday party they were getting ready to give for their friends it seems an email was sent out “uninviting” everybody from the party, and announcing the split, according to the New York Post.
This is the text of that email according to the Post:
‘We are afraid that we must cancel Sunday’s holiday party, ‘ the email cited by the Post says. ‘Sadly, we have made the difficult but mutual decision to go our separate ways.
‘We will remain friends and certainly cherish the time we spent together. We are so very sorry for the inconvenience and send you our warmest wishes… Best, Linda and Leonard.”
A spokesperson for Estée Lauder has also confirmed the separation.
Lauder, today aged 80, is the son of Estée Lauder who co-founded the company together with her husband in 1935 selling beauty products. Leonard’s estimated net worth was $7.6 billion in 2013, according to the Forbes Billionaires List.
Linda Johnson, a socialite and art collector from Philadelphia, is a successful executive in the library world as well, and has been the President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library since 2011.
–
