Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress and heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics empire, is an American businessman, longtime advocate for Israel, and former US ambassador to Austria under President Ronald Reagan. For decades, one mission has remained at the center of his philanthropy: strengthening Jewish identity, education, and community life around the world.
In 1987, Lauder established the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation to help rebuild Jewish life in Central and Eastern Europe after decades of communist rule. Today, the foundation supports 37 Jewish schools, summer camps, and community centers across 10 countries, from Austria and Hungary to Poland and Ukraine. He later founded the Lauder Business School in Vienna, a secular university that respects the Jewish calendar and holds no classes on major Jewish holidays.
Lauder has never confined himself to quiet philanthropy. Over the years, he has repeatedly used his public standing to speak out on controversial political and social issues. He pressed Bernie Ecclestone to step down as Formula One chief, advocated for Israel’s admission to NATO, and has criticized governments he believes have failed to confront antisemitism.
Now 82, and having served as president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007, Lauder announced in 2026 that he will not seek another term when his current mandate ends in 2029. Increasingly, his attention is turning to a larger question: who will lead the Jewish world next, and what must be done now to secure its future.
In one of his first extended interviews in years, Lauder urged a younger generation of Jewish philanthropists to make education their priority. “Put money into schools,” he said. “That is your future.” At the same time, he sharply criticized wealthy donors sitting on billions while, in his words, “doing bubkes.”
That criticism reflects a broader argument Lauder has been making: the Jewish world is not investing its resources where they can have the greatest long-term impact.
Speaking in Geneva in May 2026 to mark the 90th anniversary of the World Jewish Congress, Lauder warned that Jewish communities were facing “another dark hour.” He pointed to more than $600 million spent by US Jewish organizations since October 7 on advertising and media campaigns against antisemitism – an investment he argued had done little to stem the rising tide of hatred.
Lauder has called to further investments in Jewish education
Instead, Lauder has called for far greater investment in long-term Jewish education. As evidence of what such an investment can achieve, he points to the more than 50,000 graduates of the schools and educational institutions he has founded and supported across Eastern Europe.
But for Lauder, education is only one part of the battle.
At The Jerusalem Post Conference in June, he warned that “Israel is losing the information war.” He called for the creation of a dedicated government agency to counter misinformation and antisemitism, led by an experienced professional from the worlds of communications, journalism, or public relations rather than by a political appointee.
At the same time, Lauder continues to use his position to demand accountability from political leaders. In May, amid a wave of antisemitic incidents in New York, he condemned what he described as “a disgraceful failure of leadership,” warning that antisemitism was no longer something that could be ignored – it was, he said, “exploding in plain sight.”
After nearly four decades of investing in Jewish institutions, Lauder’s message today is increasingly focused on the future. The struggle to secure Jewish life, he argues, will not be won through advertising campaigns, headlines, or responses to individual crises alone. It will depend on sustained investment in the next generation – in education, Jewish identity, and the leaders who will carry that responsibility forward for decades to come.