Tom Burgis in The Guardian (and me reacting):
x
Government by billionaire's whim.
"The businessman...was Ronald Lauder. Heir to a makeup fortune – the global cosmetics brand Estée Lauder – he had known Trump, a fellow wealthy New Yorker, for more than 60 years."
BOYCOTT!
CONTACT THE COMPANY!
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
— Clio2 (@clio2.bsky.social) 2026-01-15T14:17:11.340Z
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Ronald Lauder is the 81-year-old son of Estée and Joseph Lauder. Per Wikipedia, he is the sole heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetic company.
According to Forbes, Lauder had a net worth of $4.7 billion as of May 2025....Lauder is a longtime Republican Party donor and supporter of Donald Trump.
He briefly served as Ambassador to Austria under Ronald Reagan.
Former Trump security adviser John Bolton told the Guardian that during Trump's first term, Trump told Bolton a "businessman" had suggested acquiring the 834,000-square-mile island.
The businessman, Bolton learned, was Ronald Lauder. Heir to a makeup fortune – the global cosmetics brand Estée Lauder – he had known Trump, a fellow wealthy New Yorker, for more than 60 years.
The story continues:
Like many of those around the president, Lauder’s policy suggestions appear to intersect with his business interests. As Trump has ratcheted up his threats to seize Greenland, Lauder has acquired commercial holdings there. Lauder is also part of the consortium whose desire to access Ukrainian minerals appears to have spurred Trump to demand a share of the war-torn country’s resources.
For details of Lauder's ventures in Greenland -- which include exporting spring water for the "luxury market" and potentially exploiting a lake as a hydroelectric-power source for an aluminum smelter, see the full Guardian story.
So....
It's for THIS that a U.S. president is threatening a military invasion that would destroy NATO and risk global security ???
Guardian:
Trump’s renewed pursuit of Lauder’s idea during his second term is typical of how the president operates, Bolton said. “Bits of information that he hears from friends, he takes them as truth and you can’t shake his opinion.”
Further:
Last February, shortly after Trump returned to the White House, Lauder leapt to his defence when the president publicly contemplated a military takeover of the world’s largest island.
Bergis credits Peter Baker and Susan Glasser with having first identified the Lauder-Trump-Greenland connection in a 2022 book, The Divider.
Reportedly Lauder and Trump have known each other since both attended Wharton Business School in the 1960s.
Again per Wikipedia, Manhattan-based Estée Lauder is the second largest cosmetics company in the world, taking in $14.3 billion in revenues last year.
Estee Lauder spokesmodels (including Gwyneth Paltrow) at the launch of new fragrance, Sensuous, in July 2008
Estée (originally Josephine) and her husband Joseph Lauder founded their cosmetics company in Manhattan in 1946. It became one of the legendary business success stories of the 20th century.
Its array of brand names include Clinique, La Mer, Tom Ford Beauty, Jo Malone London and more.
