Ronald Lauder
Former U.S. Ambassador to Austria (Reagan, 1986–1987); heir to Estée Lauder Companies; art collector; Epstein's name appears in their correspondence 900+ times
Document Connections (3)
Ronald Lauder — who served as U.S. Ambassador to Austria under Ronald Reagan from 1986 to 1987 — appears MORE THAN 900 TIMES in the Epstein files released by the DOJ under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. His name recurs across scheduling records, email correspondence, and business documents. Assistants to the two men emailed frequently throughout 2017 to arrange meals and phone calls between them.
Per Bloomberg and Artnet News reporting on the released files, in 2014 Epstein set up a limited liability company called Friends Ventures LLC to allow Ronald Lauder and Leon Black to jointly acquire a 1920 mixed-media work by German artist Kurt Schwitters titled 'Ja-Was?-Bild' ('Yes-What?-Picture') for $25 million. The transaction is documented in the file set.
Lauder is a former president of the Jewish National Fund and a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Trust, and the World Monuments Fund. His extensive documented contact with Epstein runs through the period of Epstein's registered-sex-offender status post-2008.
Background Sources
- Wikipedia — Ronald Lauder
- Artnet News — Leon Black and Ronald Lauder joined forces to buy masterpieces, Epstein files show
- Bloomberg — Epstein set up LLC for Lauder, Black to hold $25 million artwork (2026-02-06)
- Art News — Collector Ronald Lauder repeatedly named in newly released Jeffrey Epstein files