Tag Archives: Michael Kors

Jews of the Week: Lawrence and Lance Stroll

Lawrence Stroll

Lawrence Sheldon Strulovitch (b. 1959) was born in Montreal. He grew up dreaming of owning and driving Ferraris, and decided to make that a reality by following in his father’s footsteps to become an investor. In the early 80’s, he started by investing in Pierre Cardin and soon introduced their kid’s wear line to the Canadian market. After this success, he did the same with Polo Ralph Lauren in Europe before co-founding Sportswear Holdings Ltd. in 1989 and purchasing a major stake in Tommy Hilfiger. Together with his partner, Stroll is credited with making Tommy Hilfiger the iconic brand that it has become. In 2003, Stroll started working with Michael Kors, similarly expanding it into the international brand that it is today. By 2012, Stroll was listed on Forbes billionaire’s list, and is currently among the wealthiest Canadians. His dream fulfilled, Stroll has some 25 Ferraris in his collection, and owns the Ferrari dealership in Quebec, as well as the Mont-Tremblant racing circuit.

Lance Stroll (Credit: Eddie Keogh/Reuters)

Stroll also introduced his son, Lance Stroll (b. 1998) to the Ferrari world. By age 11, Lance had won a handful of go-karting championships, was voted Rookie of the Year and Driver of the Year, and was signed by Ferrari to its Driver Academy – the youngest person to enter the program in its history. Earlier this year, he made his professional debut in Daytona. Yesterday, it was announced that Lance will join the Williams Martini Formula One team. At 18 years old, this makes him the youngest Formula One driver in the world.

Words of the Week

Our prayers are answered not when we are given what we ask, but when we are challenged to be what we can be.
– Morris Adler

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Jews of the Week: Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors

Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren

Listed by Forbes among the richest people in the world, Ralph Lauren (b. 1939) was born Ralph Lifshitz to Polish-Belorussian immigrants in the Bronx. He began selling ties to his classmates at the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy. Lauren then studied at Baruch College, followed by several years in the US Army, after which he became a tie salesman. For a long time he would struggle to make a living, until he was finally able to open his own tie store in 1967, called Polo. As his success grew, Lauren released several men’s clothing lines. Today, Polo Ralph Lauren is a multi-billion dollar company. Interestingly, Lauren owns a rare car collection with over 70 unique vehicles – one of the greatest collections in the world. He is also a knight of the French legion.

A fellow New Yorker, Karl Anderson (b. 1959) was born to a Swedish father and Jewish mother. He changed his name to Michael Kors at age 5 when his mother remarried. Influenced by his mother’s modelling career, Kors began designing clothes as a teen and selling them out of his parents’ basement. He was discovered soon after while studying at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. After working for French fashion giant Celine for many years, Kors left to focus on his own label, which has quickly grown to huge popularity globally. Aside from the fashion world, Kors received the Oliver R. Grace Award for Distinguished Service in Advancing Cancer Research.

Words of the Week

You create your own universe as you go along.
– Winston Churchill