| Famous businesswoman, founder of a cosmetics line and chain of stores in the USA, France and Great Britain. Date of Birth: 25.12.1872 Country: USA |
Helena Rubinstein, a famous businesswoman and the founder of a cosmetic line and chain of stores in the United States, France, and Great Britain, was born Chaja Rubinstein in a family of Augusta Gitte Scheindel Silberfeld Rubinstein and Naftali Herz Horace Rubinstein. She was the eldest of eight children, born to a Krakow merchant. Rubinstein studied medicine in Switzerland for a while before moving to Australia in 1902.
Arriving in Australia with little money and weak English skills, Rubinstein quickly attracted the attention of local fashion-conscious women with her stylish attire and fair skin. She began selling imported cosmetics, which became very popular. Realizing the potential of the market, she established her own production, taking advantage of the abundance of the key ingredient in Australia - lanolin, derived from the region's plentiful sheep population. Rubinstein also had to overcome the unpleasant odor associated with the lanolin, but eventually developed a successful formula. She opened a salon in Sydney and within five years, her income enabled her to open her first salon in London, where her cosmetics gained warm reception in Europe.
Rubinstein's exceptional business acumen allowed her to amass a huge fortune. She invested her earnings in philanthropic causes, particularly in education, healthcare, and the arts. In 1908, she transferred her Melbourne store to her sister Ceska and moved to London. Rubinstein married American journalist Edward William Titus in the same year, and they had two sons. In 1912, she opened a salon in Paris, which further boosted her success with the help of her husband's journalistic connections.
In 1915, Rubinstein and Titus opened a salon in New York City due to the outbreak of World War I. It was in America that Rubinstein faced her first significant competitor, Elizabeth Arden. In 1917, Rubinstein shifted her focus to manufacturing and wholesale distribution, employing well-planned advertising campaigns that won over American customers.
In 1928, Rubinstein decided to sell her American company, 'Lehman Brothers,' for $7.3 million. However, the Great Depression that followed severely impacted the company. Rubinstein managed to repurchase the nearly devalued company for less than $1 million, restoring its former glory. She then established new salons in a dozen major American cities.
In 1937, Rubinstein divorced Titus, who had been unfaithful throughout their marriage. Within a year, she remarried Georgian prince Artchil Gourielli-Tchkonia, who was 23 years younger than her. Rubinstein passed away on April 1, 1965, and was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Queens, leaving behind a legacy as a pioneering businesswoman and philanthropist.