| Françoise Bettencourt Meyers | |
| Birth Name: | Françoise Bettencourt |
| Birth Date: | 10 July 1953 |
| Birth Place: | Neuilly-sur-Seine, France |
| Occupation: | Businesswoman |
| Vice Chairman of L'Oréal | |
| Spouse: | Jean-Pierre Meyers |
| Children: | 2 |
| Parents: | André Bettencourt Liliane Bettencourt |
| Relatives: | Eugène Schueller (grandfather) |
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (in French fʁɑ̃swaz bɛtɑ̃kuʁ mɛjɛʁs/; born 10 July 1953) is a French businesswoman, philanthropist, writer, billionaire heiress, and the richest woman in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$84.4 billion as of August 2024, according to Forbes.[1] She is the only child and heir of Liliane Bettencourt, and the granddaughter of Eugène Schueller, founder of L'Oréal. Her mother died in September 2017, after which her fortune tripled with her investments through her family holding company, Téthys Invest, and the high valuation of L'Oréal shares on the stock exchange.[2]
Raised to be Catholic,[3] she has written several Bible commentaries.[4] She is the only child and heir of Liliane Bettencourt. She married Jean-Pierre Meyers, business executive and grandson of a rabbi murdered at Auschwitz. She converted to Judaism and they raised their children, Jean-Victor and Nicolas, as Jewish.[5] Her marriage caused controversy because of her grandfather Eugène Schueller's trial for collaboration with the Nazi government: He had been L'Oreal's founder.[6] Bettencourt Meyers and her family still own a 33% stake in the company.[7]
In 2008, she sued François-Marie Banier for taking money from her mother, and 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.[8]
Her mother died in September 2017 when her net worth was about $39.5 billion.[9]
After a fire severely damaged Notre-Dame de Paris, Bettencourt Meyers and L'Oréal pledged $226 million to repair the cathedral.[10]
As of January 2022, she had an estimated fortune of $94.9 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.[11] Later, in December 2023, she was reported as the first woman with an estimated net worth of US$100 billion, according to Forbes;[1] [12] at that time, she was listed in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as the 12th richest person in the world.[13]