G. Lauder Greenway (June 10, 1904 – June 22, 1981) was a prolific patron of the arts in the 20th century, especially the opera where he was the longtime chairman of the Metropolitan Opera Association. He was also the director of the New York Philharmonic which led to his deep involvement in the creation of Lincoln Center on whose board he also served. Outside of musical arts, he served as vice-chairman of the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University from 1946 to 1948, as its acting director from 1948 to 1951 then became chairman of the institute's advisory committee during which he orchestrated the acquisition and conversion of the James B. Duke House as the institutes headquarters. He was also on the board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for several years.^[1]

Lauder Greenway was born in Greenwich, Connecticut^[1] as the second of three sons to James Greenway Sr. and his wife, Harriet Lauder Greenway. As a member of the Lauder Greenway Family, Greenway's maternal grandfather was George Lauder and his great-uncle was Andrew Carnegie which informed and empowered his philanthropic efforts. Greenway would live his entire life, less his years at boarding school and university, at his family's Lauder Greenway Estate in Greenwich.

Greenway never married and died childless, though was in a long rumored relationship with Ailsa Mellon Bruce after her divorce from David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce.^[5][6]

Mrs. Bruce's father was banker Andrew W. Mellon, the CEO of Mellon Bank, who was instrumental in converting the Lauder Greenway and Carnegie's family business from the Carnegie Steel Corporation to U.S. Steel. In addition to their personal links, Greenway was a longtime trustee of Bruce's Avalon Foundation.^[7]

As member of the Lauder Greenway Family, Greenway was an heir to the U.S. Steel fortune through the Lauder side. His mother, Harriet Lauder Greenway, was the daughter of George Lauder and niece of Andrew Carnegie. The elder men were business partners and built the Carnegie Steel Company together.^[8]

His father, James Greenway Sr. and mother Harriet provided the endowment to create the Yale School of Public Health. His uncle, John Campbell Greenway, was a Rough Rider with Teddy Roosevelt and a highly decorated World War I general while his aunt, Isabella Greenway, was one of the first female representatives in the U.S. Congress from Arizona and a close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Greenways brothers were all Yale graduates like Lauder; his younger brother, Gilbert C. Greenway, was a pioneering pilot who later served in the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration as the deputy assistant secretary of the United States Air Force after serving as an officer in the CIA. Upon retiring he was the chairman of the Lyford Cay Club in The Bahamas. His elder brother, James Cowan Greenway, was a prominent figure in ornithology who led Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Lauder's first cousin, Polly Lauder Tunney, was a longtime collaborator of his at the Metropolitan Opera Association and the wife of World Heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney.