Here’s How L'Oréal Heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers Became The First Woman In The World With a $100 Billion Fortune

What is Françoise Bettencourt Meyers' net worth?

L'Oréal heiress, philanthropist, author, and the richest woman in the world Françoise Bettencourt Meyers has an estimated net worth of $97.4 billion as of January 2, according to Bloomberg. On December 28, Meyers became the first woman to amass a $100 billion fortune, according to Bloomberg’s ranking of the richest people in the world.

The jump in Meyers’ wealth came after L'Oréal shares rose to a record high in Paris. The French beauty empire founded by her maternal grandfather posted its best stock market performance in decades. According to L’Oréal, in 2022 Meyers and her family held the majority share of 33% of the company’s stock.

Sources of Income

Career as an Author

Meyers is the only child of Liliane Bettencourt, whose father Eugène Schueller founded the L’Oréal Group in 1909. Meyers had diversified interests as she studied at a catholic school. She has a degree in international Jewish-Christian relations and the study of the genealogy of Greek mythology. She also holds a degree in bachelor of arts/economics and an MBA from Stanford University.

As an author, she has covered a spectrum of topics, including Greek mythology, Judaism, and Catholicism. Her latest work was a Biblical commentary titled "Regard sur la Bible," published in 2008.

Career With L’Oreal and Inheritance

Meyers made her way into the L’Oreal board as a director in 1997, at a time when her mother was a major shareholder in the company. While serving the board, Meyers got into a legal battle in 2007, as she filed a lawsuit insinuating that her mother was mentally impaired to be at the helm of the company.

Mayers believed that her mother’s lover Francois Marie Bannier took advantage of Liliane Bettencourt’s dementia and was trying to take over her inheritance. Meyers won the case and the court placed the family’s assets under her guidance and that of her two sons.

After the death of Liliane Bettencourt in September 2017, Meyers became the sole heiress of L’Oreal and the chairwoman of Tethys Invest, the family company that owns L’Oreal.

Liliane Bettencourt left her massive fortune of about $46 billion to her daughter and as per the French law, Meyers must have inherited a minimum of 50% of her mother’s real estate assets as well.

Currently, Meyers serves as the vice-chairperson of the company's board. She and her family are the single biggest shareholders of L'Oréal with a 33% stake.

L’Oreal is the world’s largest cosmetics company, with a wide portfolio of brands ranging from Lancome, and Garnier to Maybelline. The company had over €38 billion ($42 billion) in sales in 2022, as per CNN. Further in 2023, the company bought Australian brand Aesop in a $2.5 billion deal, marking the biggest brand acquisition ever made by the French beauty giant.

Real Estate Assets

Apart from her stake in L’Oreal, Meyers owns valuable real estate assets. She inherited several mansions including the prestigious family home in Neuilly-sur-Seine neighborhood in Paris. The wealthy suburb west of Paris is known in France as a "power suburb", per The Independent. The Art Deco mansion overlooking France’s Brittany coast is where Lilliane Bettencourt spent her final days, according to a Time report.

Car Collection

Meyers also has a large collection of luxury cars. As per reports, her collection includes a Bentley Continental GT, Jaguar F-Type, Ferrari, and Porsche 911 Cabriolet among others.

Personal Life

Meyers married Jean-Pierre Meyers, the grandson of a rabbi murdered at Auschwitz in 1984. This was a defying move as the Bettencourt family was previously accused to be Nazi sympathizers. The couple decided to raise their sons, Jean-Victor and Nicolas, as Jewish. Jean-Pierre Meyers serves as the CEO of French spirits producer Tethys SAS, and is also on the board of Nestle, while his eldest, Jean-Victor is on L'Oreal's board of directors alongside his mother.

Estranged Relationship with Mother

Lilliane Bettencourt, who inherited L’Oreal founder Schueller's fortune and control of the company in 1957, had an estranged relationship with her daughter, Meyers. Bettencourt once called her daughter "a cold child" in an interview with a French newspaper, as per The New York Times.

The relationship was further strained when Meyers filed a complaint against her mother’s lover, Francois-Marie Banier in 2008. She accused him of taking advantage of her mother’s difficult mental state to deceive the elderly heiress of more than $1 billion.

She alleged that Banier, who was a photographer, used his relationship with Bettencourt to manipulate her into giving him some 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) of cash, art, and life insurance policies, The New York Times reported.

The case went to trial in 2015 and Bainer was eventually convicted of "abus de faiblesse," or "abuse of weakness." He was initially sentenced to two and a half years in prison and ordered to pay 158 million euros. However, the jail sentence was later reversed in an appeal. Further in 2015, Banier filed a complaint against Bettencourt accusing her of bribing a witness. While Meyers claimed to be innocent, the case was settled out of court in a secret plea deal in 2016, Vanity Fair reported.

Philanthropy

Meyers is also the president of her family's philanthropic foundation, Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, that encourages French progress in the sciences and arts. In 2019, when the Notre Dame Cathedral was damaged by fire, L'Oreal and the Bettencourt Meyers family agreed to donate about $226 million to repair the structure, as per Forbes.

FAQs

How old is Francoise Bettencourt Meyers?

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is 70 years old.

How is Francoise Bettencourt Meyers so rich?

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers inherited billions from her mother, Liliane Bettencourt. She became a major L'Oreal shareholder in 2017 and the Meyers family owns about a 33% stake in the company. They also own the holding company of L’Oreal, Téthys Invest.

Who is the heir to the L'Oreal fortune?

The sole L'Oreal heir was Francoise Bettencourt Meyers after the death of Lilliane Bettencourt in 2017.

What family owns Loreal?

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and her family are the largest shareholders of L’Oreal owning around 33% of the company’s stock.

Is Mrs Bettencourt still alive?

No, French heiress, socialite, and businesswoman, Liliane Bettencourt died in 2017.

Who is the Richest Woman in the world?

With a fortune of about $100 billion, L’Oreal heiress, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is the richest woman in the world.

Who is the brand ambassador of L’Oreal?

Kendall Jenner was named as the new global ambassador of L'Oréal Paris in 2023.

What is Francoise Bettencourt Meyers’ net worth?

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers has an estimated net worth of $97.4 billion as of January 2, according to Bloomberg.