WELL RUNS DRY

Billionaire Republican Megadonor Pulls the Plug on Trump’s Party

The wealthy cosmetics heir pumped millions into Republican causes just last year.

Ronald Lauder, the billionaire and major GOP donor, has abruptly stopped handing out political donations ahead of the crucial midterm elections for Donald Trump.

The wealthy heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics fortune has tightened his purse strings and has not donated to any Republican causes in his home state of New York this year, The New York Times reported.

Lauder, who has an estimated net worth of around $4.9 billion, has closed his checkbook just as the GOP is expected to suffer heavy defeats in November’s nationwide elections. The ramifications of an electoral wipeout for the Republican Party would be significant for Trump if a Democratic-controlled Congress were to pursue impeachment proceedings against the president.

However, the 82-year-old’s change in spending habits does not appear to be linked to dissatisfaction with Trump or the GOP as a whole.

Instead, sources told the Times that Lauder’s adult children had convinced him to curtail his lavish spending and public activities as he enters his later years. That includes cutting back on political donations, downsizing staff, and giving fewer public speeches.

In January 2025, Lauder—whose daughter Jane is married to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh—announced he would be retiring from the Estée Lauder Board of Directors.

Lauder is also hoping to prioritize art and philanthropic projects, which he believes will form a greater part of his legacy.

Gerard Kassar, chairman of the New York Conservative Party, said a close associate told him that Lauder had “got to a certain age that his family and him all decided he wasn’t going to be as active the way he has been.”

“Can anyone replace him in New York financially?” Kassar told the Times. “The simple answer is no.”

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Lauder remained politically active last year, including donating $5 million to MAGA Inc., a super PAC backing Trump, in March 2025. He previously handed $200,000 to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

He also donated another $1 million to a super PAC opposing Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign.

Lauder’s ties to Trump date back decades, and he is credited with putting the idea in the president’s head to try to purchase Greenland back in 2018. Estée Lauder’s headquarters is just two blocks away from Trump Tower on New York’s 5th Avenue.

Overall, Lauder is estimated to have donated more than $40 million to state and federal campaigns. However, that pales in comparison to what he has spent on artwork. In 2006, the billionaire paid $135 million for Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, the highest price ever paid for a painting at the time.

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In a statement to the Times, Lauder said he has used his political donations to “strengthen” New York City.

He added: “I intend to continue dedicating my time, resources and energy to advancing those democratic principles and to ensuring that New York remains a place where people, families, businesses and communities can thrive.”

The Daily Beast has contacted Ronald Lauder’s office for comment.

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