Portrait of Ralph Lauren

Birthday profile

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren, American fashion designer, founded the Ralph Lauren Corporation

Born
October 14, 1939
Age in 2026
87
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1939

About Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped down as CEO of the company in September 2015 but remains executive chairman and chief creative officer. As of May 2025, his net worth is estimated at US$11.9 billion. In 1971, Ralph Lauren Corporation launched a line of tailored shirts for women, which introduced the Polo player emblem to the world for the first time, appearing on the shirt's cuff. His choice of the name followed his older brother Jerry Lauren, who had first done so after experiencing bullying in the U.S. Lauren named his first full line of menswear Polo in 1968. Ralph Lauren ( LOR-ən; né Lifshitz; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Ralph Lauren timeline

  1. Ralph Lauren ( LOR-ən; né Lifshitz; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise.
  2. Lauren named his first full line of menswear Polo in 1968.
  3. In 1971, Ralph Lauren Corporation launched a line of tailored shirts for women, which introduced the Polo player emblem to the world for the first time, appearing on the shirt's cuff.

The world when Ralph Lauren was born

Ralph Lauren was born in 1939. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1939

  • #1 song"Over the Rainbow" – Judy Garland
  • Top movieGone with the Wind
  • Best-selling bookThe Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentLou Gehrig delivers his "Luckiest Man" farewell speech
  • Top headlineGermany invades Poland — World War II begins
  • Technology milestoneFirst regular television broadcasts in the US (NBC)
  • Defining fadThe Wizard of Oz mania
  • Notable inventionNylon stockings
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population130.9M

1939 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Ralph Lauren's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19392026
Gas$0.19$3.45/gal
Average home$5,200$435,000
Average income$2,900$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population130.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.