Cosmetics Heir Joins New York Mayor’s Race

NEW YORK —  Former U.S. Ambassador Ronald S. Lauder, an heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics fortune, said Wednesday he would seek the Republican nomination for mayor of New York City against three-term Democratic incumbent Edward I. Koch.

“I have been a diplomat and a businessman, but above all I am a New Yorker and I am particularly concerned about the future of the city of New York, a city in deep crisis,” Lauder said. “ . . . I intend to wage a vigorous campaign on behalf of all the people of the great city of New York. We can and must do better.”

Lauder, 44, a multimillionaire who is listed among Forbes magazine’s 400 wealthiest Americans, served as treasurer of the New York State Republican Committee. He said he expected to make a formal announcement of his candidacy within the next 30 days.

Could Face Giuliani

The cosmetics heir, who was U.S. ambassador to Austria in 1986-87, could face serious opposition in a Republican primary if U.S. Atty. Rudolph W. Giuliani decides to enter the race.

Giuliani, who like Lauder briefly considered opposing Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan last year, declined comment in Manhattan. Moynihan was easily elected in November over token opposition to a second term in the Senate.

Lauder could bring substantial monetary resources to a mayoral campaign. He is a director of one of the world’s largest cosmetics companies, a corporate empire that bears his mother’s name and is worth well over $1.35 billion.

He also heads the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, devoted to aiding Eastern European Jews and is a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. Those credentials could help him gain support among Jewish voters, who have in the past strongly supported Koch.

The mayor declined to comment on Lauder’s announcement. Koch, whose job approval rating has plummeted in public opinion polls, could face his own fight in a Democratic primary.

Potential Democratic challengers include Manhattan Borough President David N. Dinkins, City Council President Andrew Stein, Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin, Richard Ravich, former head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and special New York state prosecutor Charles J. Hynes. If elected, Dinkins would be New York’s first black mayor.