What was Oscar de la Renta’s Net Worth?
Oscar de la Renta was a fashion designer from the Dominican Republic who had a net worth of $200 million at the time of his death in 2014. He was known for dressing many First Ladies, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama, and was one of the world’s leading designers.
De la Renta worked for Balmain and Lanvin before releasing his first ready-to-wear collection in 1965. He formed an eponymous fashion house and won numerous awards for his designs. He also launched a fragrance, accessories line, homewares line, and designed a boutique hotel in the Dominican Republic.
Oscar de la Renta’s Early Life and Career
Oscar de la Renta was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in 1932. He grew up in a Catholic household with six older sisters and studied painting at Madrid’s Royal Academy of San Fernando. He began sketching clothing to earn money and landed an apprenticeship with renowned couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga.
De la Renta left Spain in 1961 to take a job as a couture assistant to Antonio del Castillo at Lanvin in Paris.
Oscar de la Renta’s Career Highlights
In 1963, de la Renta expressed his desire to enter the ready-to-wear market, stating, “that’s where the money is.” He heeded advice from “Vogue” editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland and worked for Elizabeth Arden before taking over Jane Derby’s label in 1965. He launched his own ready-to-wear line in 1968 and received the Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion in 1972.
From 1993 to 2002, de la Renta designed a haute couture collection for Balmain, and he began offering bridal wear in 2006. His wedding gowns have been worn by high-profile brides such as Jenna Bush, Amal Clooney, and Katherine Heigl. In 2004, he opened his Madison Avenue flagship store, and he expanded internationally with stores in Madrid and Athens in 2008.
De la Renta also launched a children’s apparel line in 2012 and was the subject of two exhibits, “Oscar de la Renta: American Icon” and “Oscar de la Renta: Five Decades of Style,” at the William S. Clinton Presidential Center and the George W. Bush Presidential Center, respectively.
Personal Life and Philanthropy
Oscar de la Renta married Françoise de Langlade in 1967 and adopted a child, Moisés, from the Dominican Republic after Françoise’s death in 1983. Moisés pursued a career in fashion design, but reportedly had a falling-out with his father in 2005. Oscar married Annette Engelhard in 1989 and was stepfather to her children Eliza, Beatrice, and Charles. Oscar was a citizen of both the U.S. and the Dominican Republic and founded an orphanage in the Dominican Republic called La Casa del Nino. He held a diplomatic passport to the Dominican Republic and served as an Ambassador-at-Large for the country. Oscar also served on various boards and organizations, including Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera, and The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute.
Oscar de la Renta’s Battle with Cancer
Oscar de la Renta was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and had intermittent bouts with the disease in the last few years of his life. He passed away at age 82 at his Connecticut home in 2014 due to complications from cancer. However, a few months before his death, he hosted a fundraiser for Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he had received treatment, featuring cancer patients, survivors, and their doctors modeling his designs. Oscar talked openly about his battle with cancer, stating that it gave him a newfound appreciation for every single day of life.
Oscar de la Renta’s Awards and Honors
Oscar de la Renta won Coty Awards in 1967 and 1968 and was inducted into the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Awards Hall of Fame in 1973. He served as President of the Council of Fashion Designers of America from 1973 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988 and received the organization’s Designer of the Year Award in 2000 and 2007, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990.
De la Renta was honored with numerous awards and honors from around the world, including the La Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Civil and the Gold Medal of Bellas Artes from King Juan Carlos of Spain, the Légion d’honneur from the French government, the Order of Christopher Columbus and the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella from the Dominican Republic, and the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. He also received the Carnegie Hall Medal of Excellence and an honorary degree from Hamilton College.
In 2017, the U.S. Postal Service released an 11-stamp series in his honor.
Oscar de la Renta’s Real Estate Holdings
In 1971, Oscar de la Renta purchased Brook Hill Farm, a 50+ acre estate in Kent, Connecticut for $110,000. The property was sprawling and served as a rural retreat for the fashion designer.
Aside from his Connecticut estate, de la Renta also owned an apartment in the Park Avenue area of Manhattan and a beachfront home in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
