L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers becomes first woman with $US100 billion fortune

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers has become the first woman to amass a $US100 billion ($146 billion) fortune, marking another milestone for the heiress and for France’s expanding fashion and cosmetics industries.

Her wealth jumped to $US100.1 billion on Thursday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The milestone came as shares of L’Oreal, the beauty products empire founded by her grandfather, rose to a record high, with the stock set for its best year since 1998. She’s the 12th-richest person in the world, just behind Mexico’s Carlos Slim.

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is the 12th-richest person in the world, just behind Mexico’s Carlos Slim.Credit: Getty Images

Despite the gain, Bettencourt Meyers’ fortune is still significantly less than that of French compatriot Bernard Arnault, founder of luxury goods purveyor LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, who is second in the global ranking with $US179 billion.

France’s growing domination of luxury retail has spawned several other ultra-rich families, including the clan behind Hermes International, who have amassed Europe’s largest family fortune, and the Wertheimer brothers, who own Chanel.

The reclusive Bettencourt Meyers, 70, is vice-chair of the board of L’Oreal, a globe-spanning €241 billion ($390 billion) company in which she and her family are the single biggest shareholders with a stake of nearly 35 per cent. Her sons, Jean-Victor Meyers and Nicolas Meyers, are also directors. The firm was founded in 1909 by Bettencourt Meyers’ chemist grandfather, Eugene Schueller, to produce and sell a hair dye he had developed. It has been run by executives from outside the family for decades.

Bettencourt Meyers keeps her life private, shunning the glitzy social life sought by many of the world’s wealthy. She has written two books – a five-volume study of the Bible and a genealogy of the Greek gods – and is known for playing piano for hours every day.

As an only child, Bettencourt Meyers came into her wealth following the 2017 death of her mother, Liliane Bettencourt, with whom she had an at times contentious relationship. A legal battle in the aughts grew from a family feud to a political scandal that centred on whether the elderly mother was fit to manage the family’s wealth.

Last month, Netflix came out with a three-part documentary relating the saga, L’Affaire Bettencourt, which featured a former French president and secret recordings made by a butler.

L’Oreal grew rapidly in the decade leading up to the pandemic, but took a hit when people in lockdown used less make-up. That was followed by a rapid rebound as consumers splurged on luxury items, sending the shares up 35 per cent this year.

Liliane Bettencourt, left, oversaw the transformation of L’Oreal into the world’s biggest beauty company. When she died, her daughter Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, right, became the world’s richest woman.Credit: AP

The company’s stock could rise another 12 per cent over the next year as its product and geographic diversity shows resilience, according to Consumer Edge Research analyst Brett Cooper.

Bettencourt Meyers also chairs her family’s holding company, Tethys, which has the L’Oreal stake. Her husband, Jean-Pierre Meyers, is chief executive. In 2016, the two set up the subsidiary Tethys Invest, which bets on areas that don’t compete with the company.

With the stated intention of making “direct long-term investments in entrepreneurial projects”, the CEO of Tethys Invest is Alexandre Benais, a former Lazard investment banker.

Tethys Invest recently acquired a stake in French insurance broker April Group. Last year, it bought into decade-old fashion brand Sezane, and has also invested in French private hospital operator Elsan. The firm is partly funded by L’Oreal dividends.

Bloomberg

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