Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (; born 10 July 1953) is a French businesswoman, philanthropist, writer, pianist and billionaire heiress, the richest woman in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$75.3 billion as of March 2022, according to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

''. She is the only child, heiress of

Liliane Bettencourt Liliane Henriette Charlotte Bettencourt (; née Schueller; 21 October 1922 – 21 September 2017) was a French heiress, socialite and businesswoman. She was one of the principal shareholders of L'Oréal. At the time of her death, she was the ...

and granddaughter of

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, ...

founder

Eugène Schueller Eugène Paul Louis Schueller (20 March 1881 – 23 August 1957) was a French pharmacist and entrepreneur who was the founder of L'Oréal, the world's leading company in cosmetics and beauty. He was one of the founders of modern advertising. Foun ...

. Her mother died in September 2017, after which her fortune tripled with her investments through her family holding company, Tethys Invest, and the high valuation of L'Oréal shares on the stock exchange.

Biography

Raised to be a strict

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, she has written several Bible commentaries.''Les Échos''
, December 2009. She is the only daughter and heiress of

. She married Jean-Pierre Meyers, the grandson of a rabbi murdered at Auschwitz, and they raised their children Jean-Victor and Nicolas as Jewish. Her marriage caused controversy because of her grandfather

's trial for collaboration with the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

government; he was L'Oreal's founder.''The Guardian''
10 July 2010 Bettencourt Meyers and her family still own a 33% stake in the company. In 2008, she sued

François-Marie Banier François-Marie Banier () (born ) is a French novelist, playwright, artist, actor and photographer. He is particularly known for his photographs of celebrities and other public figures and for his friendships with members of high society. In a pr ...

for taking money from her mother, and she started proceedings to have her mother declared mentally incompetent. The revelations in the secret recordings that she used in evidence led to the Woerth-Bettencourt scandal. In December 2010, Bettencourt Meyers announced that she had settled out of court with both her mother and Banier.''La Tribune''
December 2010. Her mother died in September 2017 when her net worth was about $39.5 billion, which makes Bettencourt Meyers among the top 20 richest people in the world. After a fire severely damaged Notre-Dame de Paris, Bettencourt Meyers and

pledged $226 million to repair the cathedral. As of January 2022, she is the richest woman in the world, with an estimated fortune of $94.9 billion, according to

Bloomberg Billionaires Index The ''Bloomberg Billionaires Index'', launched in March 2012, is a daily ranking of the world's 500 richest people based on their net worth. It draws information from "action in the stock market, economic indicators and news reports", features a p ...

Bibliography

* ''The Greek gods. Genealogy'' (Les Dieux grecs. Généalogies), Paris, éd. * ''A look at the Bible'' (Regard sur la Bible), 5 vol., Introduction by Alain Decaux, Published, November 2008, awarded the prix des Lauriers Verts (section « Spirituality ») in 2009: ** Words and expressions originating in the Bible ** From one Testament to the other, Judaism and Catholicism ** Family Tree of Adam Eve, and the

Tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, thro ...

** Animals, Plants, Measures, money, and numbers in the Bible ** Genealogic section

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bettencourt Meyers, Francoise 1953 births People from Neuilly-sur-Seine L'Oréal people 20th-century French non-fiction writers French businesspeople french billionaires Living people Franchisee Female billionaires

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References