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How Tom Ford built a billion-dollar brand: the US$2.8 billion Estée Lauder buyout adds zeros to his net worth, but the fashion maverick is also a fragrance king, property mogul and film director

Inside the world of designer Tom Ford, set to become a billionaire after the US$2.8 billion Estée Lauder buyout. Photos: @tomford/Instagram, AFP, Handout
Inside the world of designer Tom Ford, set to become a billionaire after the US$2.8 billion Estée Lauder buyout. Photos: @tomford/Instagram, AFP, Handout

  • Estée Lauder’s US$2.8 billion purchase of Tom Ford makes the namesake fashion designer a billionaire – but he didn’t build the era-defining brand overnight
  • Michelle Obama is a fan of the label, but the multi-hyphenate talent also directed two films – A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals – and built a property empire with husband Richard Buckley

Why did Tom Ford sell his eponymous brand? The US$2.8 billion price tag could have something to do with it, with Estée Lauder’s buyout declared the luxury industry’s biggest deal of 2022. “I could not be happier with this acquisition as The Estée Lauder Companies is the ideal home for the brand,” gushed Ford, after the news broke. It’s not hard to wonder why.
Tom Ford, earlier this year at the 2022 Met Gala. Luxury beauty brand Estee Lauder said in a statement on November 15 that it had agreed to buy designer Tom Ford’s company for US$2.3 billion. Photo: Getty/AFP
Tom Ford, earlier this year at the 2022 Met Gala. Luxury beauty brand Estee Lauder said in a statement on November 15 that it had agreed to buy designer Tom Ford’s company for US$2.3 billion. Photo: Getty/AFP

So who is Ford and how did the brand he built in his image become so very valuable?

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Gwyneth Paltrow in 2021 wearing Tom Ford’s autumn/winter 1996 Gucci collection. Photo: Getty Images
Gwyneth Paltrow in 2021 wearing Tom Ford’s autumn/winter 1996 Gucci collection. Photo: Getty Images

He redefined Gucci for Y2K

His monosyllabic moniker first started raising eyebrows when Ford was hired as Gucci’s creative director in 1990. Today, he is often credited with turning around the Italian house’s trajectory and helping the company to go public in 1995.
A vintage Tom Ford piece from the designer’s 2002 autumn/winter collection. Photo: Getty Images
A vintage Tom Ford piece from the designer’s 2002 autumn/winter collection. Photo: Getty Images

Ford’s daring designs for Gucci earned him the title “fashion’s greatest provocateur” – but the story doesn’t stop there. He then became the creative director of Yves Saint Laurent after it was acquired by Gucci in 1999.

… then Tom Ford launched his eponymous brand