Dylan Ariel Lauren was born on 9 May 1974, in New York City, USA, the daughter of author Ricky Anne, of Jewish Austrian descent, and renowned fashion designer Ralph Lauren, of Jewish Belarussian descent. She is an entrepreneur, best known as the founder and President of New York City’s store “Dylan’s Candy Bar”.
So just how rich is Dylan Lauren now? Sources state that Lauren has acquired a net worth of over $50 million, as of mid-2016. Her fortune has been accumulated through her candy business.
Dylan Lauren Net Worth $50 Million
Lauren grew up in New York City along with her two older siblings. She attended the NYC Dalton Prep School, where she was very active in volleyball and tennis. She later enrolled in Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, graduating with Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History in 1996.
In 2001 Lauren founded “Dylan’s Candy Bar” at 15,000 square feet of prime real estate in New York City – claiming to be the largest in the world – being inspired by her childhood love of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”, a movie version of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel of the same name. The store focused on offering a wide selection of candy and candy inspired products. It was created with Lauren’s goal to merge candy, fashion, art and pop culture. As the candy business grew rapidly over the following years, stores were opened in other places, such as East Hampton, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Lauren’s net worth was certainly well established.
Today, “Dylan’s Candy Bar” stocks about 7,000 candies from around the globe, ranging from life-sized Hershey’s Kisses and numerous kinds of M&Ms and Gummy Bears, as well as nut-free, sugar-free and gluten-free candies. The store also offers candy themed apparel, jewelry and spa treatments. It has been a favorite store to many celebrities, including Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Katie Holmes, Janet Jackson and Madonna, and has collaborated with the high-end Canadian store “Holt Renfrew” in a co-branding effort.
“Dylan’s Candy Bar” has featured in movies too, such as the 2005 Will Smith comedy “Hitch” and the 2011 Russel Brand comedy “Arthur”. It has also appeared in the television series “Gossip Girl”, and the shows “Project Runway”, “Cake Boss”, “Next Great Baker” and “Dinner: Impossible”.
Lauren’s store is asserted to be the world’s largest unique and commercially successful candy shop, with annual sales reaching $25 million, which has enabled the entrepreneur to establish an impressive net worth.
Lauren has written a book called “Dylan’s Candy Bar: Unwrap your Sweet Life”, which is a celebration of love of sweets, offering creative ideas for cooking and decorating with candy on holidays and every day.
Lauren’s entrepreneurial skills, which she inherited from her father, led her to be featured on the cover of Forbes magazine in 2011. Her other honors include getting the nickname the Candy Queen by notables such as Oprah, and getting her own portrait made out of jelly beans by Jelly Belly, being among only 10 women in the world to have got that.
When it comes to her personal life, the Candy Queen has been married to hedge-fund founder/partner Paul Arrouet since 2011. Lauren is involved in charities, especially those fighting for animal causes. She is a passionate supporter of Humane Society and American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
