Word: revlon
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...mahogany. Its foundation, the company promised in a blatant appeal to African Americans and other women of color, "matches your skin tone exactly." The message hit home: All Skins now adds 4,000 new black customers a month, and overall foundation sales are up 50%. This fall, rival Revlon will also offer a line of makeup specifically for black women...
Among the luminaries charged were Martin Revson, co-founder of the Revlon cosmetics empire, and Edward Downe Jr., a former director of the investment bank Bear Stearns and husband of auto heiress Charlotte Ford. The SEC claims Downe used his position at the Wall Street firm to cull confidential information on companies and then used it to earn profits of $3.3 million in stock trades. Revson allegedly netted $1.7 million from improper tips he received from Downe. Others charged by the SEC are Steven Greenberg, a former public relations executive, who allegedly pocketed $550,000 in illicit profits; Thomas Warde...
...bring in the serious cash. A top model agrees to represent a line of makeup for Elizabeth Arden, say, or Estee Lauder for a set time period. A major contract would be worth $5 million and run three or four years. Supermodel Crawford signed a four-year deal with Revlon in 1989 that is said to total around $4 million; Paulina Porizkova's exclusive long-term contract with Estee Lauder is probably worth more than $6 million...
...need all five, by any means, but you need at least one. Charles Revson, who founded Revlon, had all but Resources (he grew up in a cold-water flat, knew nobody important and never went to college). His partner, Charles Lachman (the L in Revlon), had only Luck. He married into a small chemical company, enabling him to provide Revson a few thousand dollars of goods on credit to get started. In return, he got a 30% stake in Revlon and, in his words, a rake. For the next 50 years he just raked...
Similarly, when corporate raider Ronald Perelman seized Revlon in 1985, First Executive helped finance the $2.7 billion takeover, buying $370 million worth of Drexel's junk bonds. Perelman shut down Revlon's pension plan and skimmed off at least $50 million in "excess funding." He then rolled existing pension obligations into Executive Life annuities. Says Eli Schefer, a retired Revlon engineer in Sands Point, N.Y.: "Those were cozy deals, not done according to fiduciary standards. These guys should be thrown in jail. Now that I am almost 72, I've got to worry about when my next pension check...