The sole heir to one of the world's biggest cosmetic companies may have been the mastermind behind US President Donald Trump's bid to take Greenland.
The former US national security adviser, John Bolton, told The Guardian that the president had said to him that a "prominent businessman had just suggested the US buy Greenland".
Bolton soon found out that the businessman was Ronald Lauder, heir to the cosmetic conglomerate Estée Lauder and the president's long-term friend for 60 years. Since presenting the idea, Lauder has acquired commercial holdings in the autonomous territory.
Danish media reported in December that the billionaire was among a group of investors in a company with a US address buying into the region, including a venture to export spring water from an island in Baffin Bay and generate hydroelectric power from Greenland's biggest lake to fuel an aluminium smelter.
The businessman had also written an op-ed in the New York Post calling for Greenland's independence, by securing its economy and defences with aid from the US, dubbing the territory "America's next frontier" and Trump's ambition "strategic".
"Beneath its ice and rock lies a treasure trove of rare-earth elements essential for AI, advanced weaponry and modern technology. As ice recedes, new maritime routes are emerging, reshaping global trade and security," he wrote.
The pair have known each other since their college years, when they attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the 1960s.
Lauder is the second son of the late cosmetics giant Estée Lauder, who founded the company of the same name.
Trump and Lauder have maintained a strong relationship, with the latter describing the politician as "a man of incredible insight and intelligence".
The billionaire had donated $100,000 to Trump's first presidential campaign and $5 million to a pro-Trump super PAC (Political Action Committee).
The heir once said their relationship had started as a friendship and has turned into working "on some of the most complex diplomatic challenges imaginable", which is widely believed to be about Greenland.
The businessman has also dabbled in politics, having run as the Republican candidate for mayor of New York in 1989, but lost to Rudy Giuliani. He then ran as a Conservative, losing to Democrat David Dinkins.
However, the heir was successful in his campaign to limit mayoral terms from two to four years in 1993.
Lauder had also served as deputy assistant secretary of defence for European and NATO policy under the Reagan administration and served as the US ambassador to Austria two years later.
The businessman is also a longtime advocate for Israel, having served as president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007. He has also funded and supported numerous pro-Israeli philanthropic and political efforts, putting Estee Lauder on the BDS list over its complicity in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.