Ralph Lauren

He was diagnosed with non-threatening brain tumor and underwent surgery to remove the brain tumor, in 1987.

Ralph Lifshitz was born on October 14, 1939 to Jewish immigrants, Fraydl and Frank Lifshitz in Bronx, New York.

He studied at the Baruch College and then at the MTA, but eventually graduated from the DeWitt Clinton High School, in 1957.

At the age of 16, he changed his name to Ralph Lauren, because other children would make fun of his last name. When he was still in school, he would sell neck-ties to his classmates.

He studied business at Baruch College, but dropped out from the college after two years. From 1962 to 1964, he briefly served in the United States Army, following which he worked with the Brooks Brothers as a sales assistant.

In 1966, he became extremely inspired to create his own versions of European-styled neckties, but the company he was working for, brushed it off as an unrealistic project.

In 1967, he took a $50,000 loan from a clothing manufacturer, Norman Hilton and opened a necktie store under the label ‘Polo’. He obtained the rights to use the emblem ‘Polo’ from Brooks Brothers.

In 1971, he expanded his small business and opened a Polo boutique in the pricey, Rodeo Drive, in Beverly Hills.

In 1972, he released his trademark short-sleeve shirt with the Polo logo and also unveiled his first Ralph Lauren collection for women. He gained even more recognition after he designed a whole clothing line for the movies, ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘Annie Hall’.

In 1984, he established his first flagship store, ‘Polo Ralph Lauren’ by converting the Rhinelander Mansion into his store.

In 1997, Ralph Lauren Corporation became a public company and floated on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘RL’.

Ralph Lauren’s genius, among many other qualities of any businessman, made him the creator, designer and the head of a multi-billion dollar company. He also became the first fashion designer to have his own flagship store in the United States and became the first designer to sell the ideal ‘lifestyle’ image of complexity, class and taste, through his multifarious lines of clothing, accessories and home furnishings.