Fashion Designer Ralph Lauren has become the epitome of classic fashion. With product lines such as Polo/Ralph Lauren for Men, Ralph Lauren for Women, Double RL, Ralph Lauren Home, and even Ralph Lauren paint, it makes us wonder who the man behind the label really is. Born Ralph Lifshitz on October 14, 1939, in the Bronx, New York, Ralph Lauren has come a long way from his days of sharing a bedroom with two of his brothers. Growing up in a middle-class Jewish family, Ralph and his three older brothers were raised by his mother, while his artist father painted houses. Lauren's fashion sense was apparent at an early age when he would purchase expensive suits with the money he earned working at his after-school job. Although he knew he could find his clothes at a less expensive price, he made it a point to look stylish in his expensive threads -- and he has succeeded at looking cool in his attire since the age of 12.

One would think that Lauren attended fashion design school, but he actually studied business at City College in Manhattan, and dropped out short of receiving his business degree. Student by night, Lauren would work by day at two glove companies as a salesman. He then worked for a tie manufacturer named A. Rivetz & Co. which ultimately led to the fashion empire he leads today. While working at A. Rivetz & Co., Lauren began designing wide ties, which spawned his first entrepreneurial career. With his tie designs and a $50,000 loan, Lauren founded the company Polo Fashions in 1968. Along with his older brother, he chose the name Polo because of the power, style, and intrigue that the brand has always been associated with. The Polo brand known today as the preppy English-tweed look it conveys did not get to be a million dollar empire because Lauren was lucky, nor because Lauren had an immaculate sense of style.

Lauren not only had an innovative mind, but he also knew that packaging and presentation were of utmost importance -- something he didn't need to learn while studying for his business degree. In the late 60's, while Lauren was trying to develop his line of wide ties, Bloomingdale's insisted Lauren remove his name from the ties' label, and make his ties narrower. Not giving into the retail giant Bloomingdale's, Lauren stuck to his guns and refused to sell to the department store under such circumstances. Suffice it to say, the retailer came back crawling to Lauren and his ties under his terms, after having seen the brand's success. The rest as they say, is history. Ralph Lauren now owns a multibillion dollar global brand across the world. Polo prefers licensing over manufacturing; it oversees many licensees as well as more than 350 contract manufacturers worldwide. The firm operates about 275 retail and outlet stores in the US and licenses more than 100 others worldwide. Founder Ralph Lauren still controls almost 90% of Polo's voting power.