06/01/2024 – 7:49
An only child, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers inherited her mother's entire fortune, which multiplied thanks to the rise in L'Oréal shares. Today he is 13th among the world's billionaires – with the right to a Netflix miniseries. It is often said that “to make money, you need money”. French billionaire Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is living proof of this saying. After adding another 28.6 billion dollars (R$139.4 billion) to her capital throughout 2023, at the end of December her personal fortune surpassed the 100 billion dollar mark. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, she became the first woman to have so much money.
Although the sum fell to 96.2 billion dollars on January 4, 2024, in addition to still being, by far, the richest woman, Bettencourt Meyers has the 13th largest fortune in the world, in absolute terms, according to Bloomberg . Forbes, which also compiles a ranking of billionaires, places it in 15th place. Whatever the calculation, she remains one of the few women to appear on such lists.
Bettencourt Meyers, 70, is the granddaughter of the founder of the cosmetics company L'Oréal, Eugene Schueller. Her mother, Liliane Bettencourt, was the richest woman in the world when she died in 2017, aged 94.
As Françoise is an only child, she received the total inheritance: 40 billion dollars, most of it in L'Oréal shares. Today she owns 34.7% of the company and is vice-president of the 16-headed business council, in which her two children also participate. Over the years, it has also received large sums in dividends.
The billions of cosmetics
Founded in 1909, the L'Oréal conglomerate is today the largest cosmetics manufacturer in the world, encompassing brands such as Lancôme, Kiehl's, Maybelline and Garnier, and employing more than 85 thousand employees. In 2022, its official revenue exceeded 38 billion euros (R$203 billion).
The firm was not always so profitable: for years the value of its shares remained stagnant. However, since 2011 they have been on the rise, rising from 100 euros the following year and only dropping during the Covid-19 pandemic. Back in form, on December 19, 2023 the bonds touched an all-time high of 460 euros, giving L'Oréal a market capitalization of more than 240 billion euros. As a result, Bettencourt Meyers' fortune broke the 100 billion dollar ceiling.
However, the title of richest Frenchman goes to Bernard Arnault, owner of the LVMH luxury goods group and for a period the richest individual in the world. According to Bloomberg, he currently has $179 billion.
Surviving the “Bettencourt case”
For Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, being a billionaire heiress is not enough: avoiding high society and public attention, she has already written books about the Greek gods and the Bible. Despite all the advantages of her birth, her rise was not linear: her relationship with her mother was tense.
Tensions came to a head in the famous “Bettencourt case”, which made headlines around the world and in 2023 was covered in the three-part Netflix series The Billionaire, the Butler and Her Boyfriend. Starting in 2007, Bettencourt Meyers accused several people of exploiting her mother's poor mental health – including former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Mother and daughter took the dispute to court, which decided to place Liliane Bettencourt's capital, investments and properties under family guardianship.
During these long legal battles, Françoise stood her ground and managed to keep most of her mother's fortune intact. Since her death, she has taken charge of the situation, and in 2018 she climbed several billionaire rankings. The dizzying rise in L'Oréal shares in recent years has more than doubled its inheritance. The family also invests in other projects through the holding and investment company Téthys.
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