Ralph Lauren, the Successful Jewish designer credited with creating the all-American student look, is stepping down as CEO of his eponymous fashion house.
Born in the Bronx to Russian immigrants. When he was only teenager, then Ralph Lifshitz, started a business in the Empire State Building, hand-making ties from a tiny office. His first breakthrough came when Neiman Marcus ordered 1, 200 of them.
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Lauren is one of few fashion designers to make Forbes’ lists of richest people, with a net worth estimated at $6 billion. He’s the 74th wealthiest person in America, in Forbes 400 — down from #55 on last year’s list.
Other billionaires who’ve made their fortunes from fashion include Miuccia Prada and Giorgio Armani. Tory Burch Joint the group in 2013.
Lauren’s fortune is largely derived from his 81.5% stake in Ralph Lauren Corp. He’s considered one of America’s greatest self-made entrepreneurs.
Lauren will remain chairman of the $7.5 billion (revenues) company.
His son David Lauren heads global advertising and marketing and recently joined the company’s board.
Stefan Larsson, one of the most successful executives in the fashion industry, has been named Chief Executive Officer starting in November.
Stefan Larsson most recently served as the Global President of Old Navy, a division of Gap Inc. Under his leadership, Old Navy enjoyed three consecutive years of profitable growth, adding $1 billion in sales. Previously, in 15 years at Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), Larsson was part of the team that grew sales from $3 billion to $17 billion and expanded the company’s operations from 12 to 44 countries.
