The granddaughter of the founder of L'Oréal became the first woman with a fortune of $100 billion
70-year-old Françoise Bettencourt Myers, the granddaughter of the founder and deputy chairman of the board of directors of L'Oréal, became the first woman in the world whose fortune exceeded $100.1 billion. Bloomberg reports this.
As the agency notes, Myers’s fortune was affected by the growth of L'Oréal shares to a record level, these are the best figures since 1998. In the world ranking of the richest people, Myers ranks 12th. Françoise controls one third of L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetics manufacturer. She is the chairman of the holding company, which formerly belonged to her mother Lilian. After her death in 2017, she bequeathed her share of the company to Myers. L'Oreal owns the Lancome and Garnier brands, and its revenue in 2022 was $41.9 billion. The entire company is now valued at $268 billion.
Earlier this year, L'Oreal bought Australian brand Aesop for $2.5 billion, marking the brand's biggest ever acquisition. The company's previous record was the purchase of YSL Beauté for $1.7 billion in 2008, according to Dealogic.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Elon Musk is again the richest person in the world. His fortune is estimated at $232 billion. In second place is LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault (his fortune is $179 billion). Amazon founder Jeff Bezos closes the top three with $178 billion.