She’s not a household name, but the company she helps oversee as a board member has global recognition.
For the second year in a row on Forbes’ list of the World’s Billionaires, the planet’s richest woman is L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers of France.
Worth an estimated $74.8 billion, Bettencourt Meyers is an estimated $1.2 billion richer than a year ago, making her the fourteenth richest person in the world.
The 68-year-old French citizen is the vice-chair of the board of L’Oréal, the world’s largest cosmetics and beauty company, which her chemist grandfather Eugène Paul Louis Schueller founded in 1909. Bettencourt Meyers first landed on Forbes’ billionaire’s list in 2018, after her mother, Liliane Bettencourt–then the planet’s richest woman–died in 2017 at the age of 94. In 2007, Bettencourt Meyers famously sued François-Marie Banier, a close friend of her mother’s, for allegedly siphoning more than $1 billion worth of gifts from the elderly woman. The banner was later sentenced to three years in jail and was ordered to reportedly pay back $16.5 million to Bettencourt and her family.
Bettencourt Meyers and her family own about 33% of L’Oréal’s stock. She has been a member of the company’s board since 1997. Her two sons, Jean-Victor Meyers and Nicolas Meyers, also sit on the board. As the world’s largest beauty manufacturer, L’Oréal owns more than 35 cosmetic, skincare, and personal-care brands. Its lead portfolio companies include Maybelline, Garnier, and NYX.
Far from a stodgy conglomerate, the 100-year-old company has continued to stay fresh-faced via technology and acquisitions. It recently launched a headset to help people make precise fragrance choices. But more important than its tech incubator, L’Oréal continues to acquire indie brands and form strategic alliances to stay on top of trends. In 2018, its Open Innovation program welcomed Jecca, a genderless makeup brand founded by LGBTQ and transgender advocate Jessica Blacker, to its accelerator.
More recently, in 2021, it bought (for an undisclosed amount) Youth To The People, a California skin care company that uses vegan blends and superfood extracts. A fixture in the beauty aisles of Urban Outfitters, the Gen-Z brand was expected to record more than $50 million in sales in 2021, according to L’Oréal.
All in all, L’Oréal’s group of companies generated more than $35 billion in revenue in 2021 and the company employs 85,000 people worldwide. Bettencourt Meyers is also president of her family’s philanthropic foundation, which champions France’s role in the advancement of the sciences and arts.
Credit: Francoise Bettencourt Meyers|Forbes
