Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder fortune, built a multifaceted career spanning global business, diplomacy, and cultural leadership. As a longtime leader and major shareholder of Estée Lauder Companies, he helped expand the cosmetics empire into an international powerhouse of prestige beauty brands. Lauder also served as U.S. ambassador to Austria and became one of the world’s most influential art patrons, including leadership at the Jewish Museum in New York and major involvement in efforts to recover Nazi-looted art. Known for strategic philanthropy and cultural advocacy, Lauder’s influence extends far beyond consumer brands into politics, education, and heritage preservation.

Peter Thiel, cofounder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies, is one of Silicon Valley’s most influential and contrarian thinkers, known for backing companies that challenge consensus and reshape entire industries. As an early investor in Facebook and the first outside investor in several category-defining startups, Thiel helped popularize a philosophy centered on building monopolies through deep technology rather than incremental competition. Through Founders Fund, he has backed transformative ventures across software, defense, biotech, and space. Thiel’s impact extends beyond investing into ideas, shaping debates around technology, globalization, and the future of innovation.