French heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers officially became the world's wealthiest woman in 2017. In December last year, she achieved another remarkable feat in becoming the first female in history to amass a fortune of $100 billion (£79m), largely thanks to her substantial stake in global beauty corporation L'Oréal.
However, the rise of the world's leading cosmetics company – and the family behind it – has been far from smooth sailing. The juicy saga bears all the hallmarks of a Hollywood movie, with the dynasty beset by inheritance battles and family feuds.
Read on to discover the secrets of Françoise and her family and her path to becoming the world's richest woman. All dollar amounts in US dollars.
L'Oréal can trace its roots back to 1909, when Eugène Schueller (pictured), the grandfather of Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, officially launched the business.
French chemist Schueller invented a revolutionary hair dye formula that quickly became all the rage in Parisian salons, laying the foundation for what's now known as global beauty powerhouse L'Oréal.
The company has since cemented its dominance in the beauty industry by launching scientific innovations such as the first-ever ammonia-free hair dye, as well as expanding its product range to include cosmetics, skincare, and perfumes.
The company's savvy growth strategy has also seen it acquire other renowned beauty brands, including NYX Cosmetics, YSL Beauty, and The Body Shop. (It sold the latter in 2017.)
Today, L'Oréal is the world's leading cosmetics company, with over 40 brands under its umbrella and thousands of products on the market. It counts some of Hollywood's hottest stars among its roster of beauty ambassadors, with the likes of Jane Fonda, Eva Longoria, and Helen Mirren (pictured) representing the brand today.
The company, headquartered in the Clichy district of Paris, employs around 87,400 staff. It achieved impressive revenues of $40.2 billion (£31.8bn) in 2023 alone, resulting in a healthy profit of around $6 billion (£4.7bn).
When Eugène Schueller passed away in 1957, his fortune was inherited by his daughter Liliane (pictured), making her the largest individual L'Oréal shareholder. The French heiress died in 2017 at the venerable age of 94. At the time of her death, she held the title of the world's richest woman, with a net worth of $39.5 billion (£32bn), according to Forbes.
Her 33% stake in L'Oréal was transferred to her only child, Françoise, who was born in 1953. The daughter of Liliane and the French politician André Bettencourt, who died in 2007, Françoise also inherited the coveted title of world's richest woman.
While Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is not involved in L'Oréal's day-to-day operations, she has played a pivotal role in preserving the family fortune. She's been a member of L'Oréal's board since 1997 and serves as the chairwoman of the family's lucrative holding company, Téthys Invest.
Françoise is pictured here with her parents at the "Feminissima" exhibition in Paris in 1987.
Françoise's sons Jean-Victor and Nicolas (pictured here with their parents, Françoise and her husband Jean-Pierre Meyers) are also involved in L'Oréal and hold positions on the board. One day, they'll inherit the sprawling beauty empire their great-grandfather established over a century ago.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is also the president of the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, established by the family in 1987. The philanthropic organisation supports scientific research, culture, and humanitarian projects.
Perhaps most notably, the organisation pledged $226 million (£178m) towards restoration efforts after a fire devastated Notre-Dame Cathedral (pictured) in 2019.
Outside of the family business, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers has authored and published books covering topics such as Greek mythology and religion.
Her most recent work, a Biblical commentary titled Regard sur la Bible, was released in 2008.
Unlike some billionaires, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers prefers to stay out of the spotlight. However, the reclusive heiress's 1984 marriage to Jewish businessman Jean-Pierre Meyers caused controversy due to her decision to convert from Catholicism to Judaism and raise her family in the Jewish faith.
Her conversion drew light to the fact that L'Oréal founder Eugène Schueller had been investigated as a Nazi collaborator shortly after World War II. Though all charges against him were eventually dropped, L'Oréal later acknowledged that Schueller offered support to the Vichy regime, the collaborationist government that was established in France during World War II.
And that's not the only scandal surrounding the family that's made headlines over the years...
In 1987, Liliane Bettencourt formed an unlikely friendship with artist and photographer François-Marie Banier, 25 years her junior. Over the following two decades, the L'Oréal heiress lavished Banier with around €1 billion ($1.1bn/£860m) in gifts, including cash, real estate, and artwork.
In 2007, a member of Lilane's domestic staff reportedly overheard Banier and Liliane discussing plans to name him as her legal heir. This prompted Françoise to file criminal charges against Banier for "abuse of weakness", claiming he'd manipulated her mother into parting with substantial sums of money.
The ensuing scandal, widely referred to as the "Bettencourt Affair" in the press, captivated French tabloids, with some referring to Banier as a "gigolo". Even though Banier was an openly gay man, and his relationship with Lilane was never proved to be romantic, the story became a public relations nightmare for L’Oréal.
It prompted rumours at the time that the cosmetics company faced a takeover by its Swiss partner Nestlé.
The case took a significant turn in 2010 when it was revealed that Liliane's butler, Pascal Bonnefoy, had secretly recorded hours of conversations between the heiress, her financial advisers, and her lawyers.
The leaked transcripts exposed tax evasion schemes, undisclosed Swiss bank accounts, and alleged illegal political contributions to members of then-President Nicolas Sarkozy's government.
Liliane was in the grip of Alzheimer's at the time, and the tapes also revealed her apparent confusion, allowing her advisors to exert control over her finances. A trial commenced in 2015, with Banier and nine others, including Liliane's financial adviser and a lawyer, facing charges of abuse of weakness.
Although Sarkozy himself was investigated, the case against him was ultimately dropped.
Banier (pictured) was eventually found guilty of abuse of weakness in relation to Liliane and labelled a "vampire" by the judge during the high-profile trial. A second trial in 2016 upheld the conviction but reduced Banier's sentence to four years suspended.
In 2023, a Netflix documentary titled The Billionaire, the Butler, and the Boyfriend premiered, chronicling Banier's controversial relationship with Liliane.
It's been suggested that Liliane's "loneliness" and her strained relationship with Françoise, her only child, allowed the devious Banier to worm his way into her life.
Liliane reportedly resented Françoise's reclusive lifestyle and reserved personality, with relations between mother and daughter first turning sour when Françoise was a teen. Liliane described her child as "heavy and slow", once noting that she was "always one lap behind me" (as reported by Vanity Fair).
In a 2009 interview with a French newspaper, Liliane labelled Françoise “a cold child”, according to The New York Times.
Despite the familial friction, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers was her mother's sole heir. As previously mentioned, her 2017 inheritance made her the world's richest woman and she went on to become the first woman to amass a fortune of $100 billion (£79 billion) in December last year.
Per Forbes, her wealth has since decreased and now stands at around $80.5 billion (£63.5bn). Despite the dip, this staggering sum means Bettencourt Meyers maintains the title of world's richest woman and, at the time of writing, is the 11th richest person on the planet.
Bettencourt Meyers reportedly shuns the glitz and glamour that comes with being part of the wealthy elite, instead choosing to spend her time at home, playing the piano or reading. But where does the world's richest woman choose to call home?
Françoise's primary residence is a Parisian mansion (pictured) in the affluent Neuilly-sur-Seine area. The so-called "power suburb" is home to notable French actors and politicians, including Christian Clavier and Marine Le Pen. Liliane Bettencourt also owned a mansion in the prestigious neighbourhood, which her daughter likely inherited upon her death.
Bettencourt Meyers also inherited a mansion that overlooks the Brittany coast in Western France (pictured). The lavish property was used by the Bettencourt family as a vacation home during Françoise's childhood, though further details about the abode are scarce.
One thing's for sure: it's a long way from the modest roots of Eugène Schueller, the young French chemist who turned a hair dye formula into a formidable family empire.
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