The Covid pandemic, while devastating in many ways, turned out to be great news for luxury goods and L’Oreal and its heiress, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, are reaping the benefits. Meyers, the richest woman in the world, has become the first woman to hold a $100 billion fortune, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
The Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index, which reflects changes as of 5 pm ET of the previous trading day, lists Bettencourt Meyers as the 12th richest person, just ahead of Mukesh Ambani and behind Carlos Slim, who recently became the first person from Latin America to cross the $100 billion threshold.
L’Oreal’s stock is at a record high and Bettencourt Meyers and her family owned more than 34% of the company’s stock. The stock has risen 35% this year.
Bettencourt Meyers was the only child of Liliane Bettencourt, whose father, Eugène Schueller, founded the L’Oréal Group. She inherited her mother’s holdings when Bettencourt died in 2017. Bettencourt Meyers is the chairwoman of the family’s holding company, Tethys, and is the vice chairwoman of L’Oreal Group’s board of directors.
The world’s largest cosmetics company, which owns a wide portfolio of brands from Lancôme to Maybelline, had more than €38 billion ($42 billion) in sales in 2022, according to company reports.
While Bettencourt Meyers has become the richest woman in the world, her fortune still trails noticeably to LVMH chair Bernard Arnault, the world’s largest maker of luxury goods. He’s the second-richest person in the world according to the index, with a net worth of $179 billion. The richest person in the world is Elon Musk, CEO of several prominent companies, including electric car manufacturer Tesla and space exploration company SpaceX.
Bettencourt Meyers is not only a business’ tycoon, she is an author who has written books on Greek mythology and on Jewish Christian relations, Judaism, Christianity, and the tribes of Israel. She is also the current president of the family’s non-profit foundation which promotes scientific research.
