NOTE: This is a free members-only program, but online registration is required.
What began in 1946 in a family kitchen in Queens, became The Estée Lauder Companies, one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of prestige beauty products sold in more than 150 countries.
The company’s remarkable story starts with Esther Lauder, a woman of great charm and chutzpah, and her son Leonard A. Lauder. He took a company named for his mother on a raucous ride through the post-war boom and the cutthroat world of beauty products. For 60 years, Lauder, now chairman emeritus and former CEO, remained mindful of the early days, when his mother, armed with jars of her face cream, would corner women—and potential customers—at the beauty parlor, and talk them into letting her give them a facial while they were stuck under the hair dryer. Pushy, but in a nice way.
Lauder’s personal story is full of corporate gossip and personal ambition. But it is also about determination, learning from mistakes, and fierce competition in an age of economic turbulence.
In a conversation with Bob Barnett, author representative and partner at Williams and Connolly LLP, he shares the ups and downs of one of the world’s most iconic beauty businesses.
Lauder’s book The Company I Keep: My Life in Beauty (HarperCollins) is available for purchase.
NOTE: All author proceeds from the sales of the book will be donated to charity.
Book Sale Information
- Purchase your copy of The Company I Keep by Leonard Lauder here.
- SPECIAL NOTE: Politics and Prose is offering a 10% discount to Smithsonian Associates ticket-holders. To claim your discount, enter the code SPECIAL10 (no space between letters and numbers) in the “Coupon discount” section on Politics and Prose's check-out page.
Patron Information
- If you register multiple individuals, you will be asked to supply individual names and email addresses so they can receive a Zoom link email. Please note that if there is a change in program schedule or a cancellation, we will notify you via email, and it will be your responsibility to notify other registrants in your group.
- Unless otherwise noted, registration for streaming programs typically closes two hours prior to the start time on the date of the program.
- Once registered, patrons should receive an automatic email confirmation from CustomerService@SmithsonianAssociates.org.
- Separate Zoom link information will be emailed closer to the date of the program. If you do not receive your Zoom link information 24 hours prior to the start of the program, please email Customer Service for assistance.
- View Common FAQs about our Streaming Programs on Zoom.
