Eugène Paul Louis Schueller (20 March 1881 – 23 August 1957) was a French pharmacist and entrepreneur who was the founder 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, ...

, the world's leading company in cosmetics and beauty. He was one of the founders of modern advertising.

Founding of L'Oréal

As a young French chemist of Alsatian paternal origin, Schueller graduated in 1904 from the Institut de Chimie Appliquée de Paris (now

Chimie ParisTech Chimie ParisTech (officially École nationale supérieure de chimie de Paris (''National Chemical Engineering Institute in Paris''), also known as ENSCP or Chimie Paris), founded in 1896 within the University of Paris, is an engineering school ...

). Schueller developed in 1907 an innovative hair-color formula, which he called Oréale. He formulated and manufactured his own products, and sold them to Parisian hairdressers. In 1909, he registered his company, the ''Société Française de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux'', the future L'Oréal. The guiding principles of the company that would become L'Oréal were put into place from the start: research and innovation in the interest of beauty.

Support for fascism

During the early twentieth century, Schueller provided financial support and held meetings for

La Cagoule La Cagoule (''The Cowl'', press nickname coined by the '' Action Française'' nationalist Maurice Pujo), originally called the ''Organisation secrète d'action révolutionnaire nationale'' (Osarn or OSAR; Secret Organisation for revolutionary na ...

at L'Oréal headquarters. La Cagoule was a violent French

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

-leaning,

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

and anti-

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

group whose leader formed a political party

Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire The Revolutionary Social Movement (in French: ''Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire'' MSR) was a fascist movement founded in France in September 1940. Its founder was Eugène Deloncle, who was previously associated with ''La Cagoule'' . The MSR s ...

(MSR, Social Revolutionary Movement) which in Occupied France supported the Vichy collaboration with the conquerors from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. L'Oréal hired several members of the group as executives after World War II, such as

Jacques Corrèze Jacques Corrèze (11 February 1912 – 28 June 1991) was a French businessman and politician. He was the chief executive officer of the United States-based operation of L'Oréal for the Americas ( Cosmair), the world's leading company in cosmetics ...

, who served as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the US operation. This involvement was extensively researched by

Michael Bar-Zohar Michael Bar-Zohar ( he, מיכאל בר-זהר, born 30 January 1938) is an Israeli historian, novelist and politician. He was a member of the Knesset on behalf of the Alignment and Labor Party in the 1980s and early 1990s. Biography Born in Bul ...

in his book, ''Bitter Scent''.

Family

Schueller's daughter,

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 ...

, was the widow of

André Bettencourt André Bettencourt (; 21 April 1919 – 19 November 2007) was a French politician. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre, and was a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He had been a member of La Cagoule, a violent French fascist-leaning and anti- ...

with whom she had one daughter, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, chairwoman of L'Oréal's board of directors and according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index the richest woman in the world and the 12th richest person in the world, with a net worth of USD 94,9 Billion as of January 2022. Françoise Meyers is married to Jean-Pierre Meyers, whose rabbi grandfather was murdered in

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

, a Nazi concentration camp. In 2017, Liliane Bettencourt was the wealthiest woman in the world, with holdings estimated at US$39.5 billion.

Legacy

The head office of L'Oréal in

Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine Clichy ( , ; sometimes unofficially Clichy-la-Garenne ) is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located on the Seine, from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 61,070. Located in Clichy are the headqua ...

is named ''Centre Eugène Schueller''.World Presence
"

. Retrieved on 14 July 2010. "Centre Eugène Schueller 41, rue Martre 92117 CLICHY"

References

External links

Official website of L'Oréal

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schueller, Eugene 1881 births 1957 deaths Businesspeople from Paris 20th-century French chemists French cosmetics businesspeople French fascists History of cosmetics L'Oréal people French anti-communists Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur French people of German descent French company founders French collaborators with Nazi Germany