Who Is Francoise Bettencourt Meyers? The Richest Woman In The World

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the granddaughter of L’Oreal founder Eugène Schueller, is the richest woman in the world today. 

Worth an estimated $74.8 billion, Forbes learned that Bettencourt Meyers is around $1.2 billion richer than last year, making her the 14th richest in the world this year.

Let us take a look at the career and the outstanding achievements of today’s richest woman. 

Bettencourt Meyers, 68, first landed on the Forbes billionaires list in 2018, after her mother, Liliane Bettencourt, previously the world’s richest woman, died in 2017. 

According to L’Oreal’s website, Bettencourt Meyers currently sits as chairwoman of the family holding company, Tethys, and as vice-chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the L’Oréal group of companies. She is also a member of the company’s Strategy and Sustainability Committee, Nominations and Governance Committee and Human Resources and Remuneration Committee. 

Her two sons, Jean-Victor Meyers and Nicolas Meyers, are also part of the board.

The 68-year-old and her family reportedly own around 33% of L’Oreal stock to date. 

Aside from being a board member of the world’s largest cosmetics company, Bettencourt Meyers serves as the president of her family’s foundation, Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, which encourages French progress in the sciences and arts.

She is also a writer. She authored a book on the Greek gods and another with commentary on the Bible.

As the world’s largest beauty manufacturer, L’Oréal owns more than 35 cosmetic, skincare and personal-care brands, including Maybelline, Garnier and NYX.

The L’Oréal group of companies, which employs 85,000 people worldwide, generated more than $32 billion in 2020 and $35 billion in revenue in 2021.

(L-R) Cosmetics company L’Oreal chief executive Jean-Paul Agon, Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L’Oreal fortune and her daughter Francoise Bettencourt Meyers arrive for the L’Oreal-UNESCO prize for women in Paris, March 3, 2011. Bettencourt’s daughter won control over her 88-year-old mother’s business affairs on Monday almost two years after she first asked to take over on the grounds her mother had been exploited. The decision was made on the basis of a medical examination, carried out following a surprise visit to the elderly billionaire’s home in June, which concluded she was suffering from a form of dementia. Photo: Reuters