We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (a Delaware corporation)and subsidiaries as of June 30, 2001 and 2000, and the related consolidated statements of earnings, stockholders’ equity and comprehensive income and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended June 30, 2001. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. To The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.: We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States. Those  standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting  the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and subsidiaries as of June 30, 2001 and 2000, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended June 30, 2001 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. This is a copy of the audit report previously issued by Arthur Andersen LLP in connection with our filing on Form 10-K  for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2001. This audit report has not been reissued by Arthur Andersen LLP in connection  with this filing on Form 10-K. See Exhibit 23.2 for further discussion. New York, New York August 10, 2001 REPORT OF INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS 83 THEEST{E LAUDER COMPANIES INC.