Ronald Lauder
Net worth as of August 13th, 2025: $4.8 Billion (Forbes)
- Billionaire Ronald Lauder is a longtime Trump ally and current President of World Jewish Congress who, under the second Trump administration, has been acting as an unofficial White House advisor on Israel.
- In addition to unsanctioned “quasi-lobbying” for Israel, Lauder also reportedly convinced Trump to (attempt to) purchase Greenland from Denmark.
- As a GOP mega donor, Lauder spent millions to support Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, as well as Ron Desantis’ 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial campaigns.
- In 2022, Lauder pumped over $10 million into Lee Zeldin’s failed run for governor of New York in 2022, prompting an investigation from the state’s Board of Elections.
- Despite initially refusing to back Trump’s 2024 bid (opting to support Nikki Haley’s campaign instead), Lauder ultimately donated $5 million to Trump’s Super PAC, MAGA Inc., in March 2025.
- The donation, according to the New York Times, “could be interpreted as an olive branch from Mr. Lauder, who had drifted from Mr. Trump’s orbit after criticizing him while he was out of office in 2022 for hosting Nick Fuentes, an outspoken antisemite and Holocaust denier, for dinner at Mar-a-Lago.”
- Lauder is an heir to the Estée Lauder, a multinational cosmetics conglomerate linked to child-labor, securities fraud, and racist behavior from corporate executives. A 2011 investigation by the New York Times revealed how the billionaire abused philanthropy and other accounting loopholes to avoid paying taxes on his wealth.
- Despite his recent criticisms of Benjamin Netanyahu, Lauder is largely responsible for the Israeli Prime Minister’s rise to power. In 2018, Lauder was questioned by Israeli police over gifts he had given Netanyahu.
For more information, see the Revolving Door Project’s Oligarchs in Trump World tracker.
Image Credit: “Ronald S Lauder” by Michael Thaidigsmann is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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