In 2019, Françoise Bettencourt-Myers topped the list of the richest women in the world according to Forbes magazine. Compared to last year, the fortune of the heiress of the L’Oreal empire has increased by more than $ 7 billion and helped to take 15th place in the overall world ranking. For the sake of preserving the family capital, Françoise had to go through the court with her mother and convict in the mercenary interests of a clever swindler who had lost his trust in an unhealthy woman.
Towards wealth
Lillian Schüller lost her mother at the age of 5 and was raised by her father, the founder of L’Oreal. He devoted all his efforts to building a business and raising his daughter, so he did not arrange his personal life anymore. Already at the age of 15, Lillian began working at her father’s enterprise, starting her working career as a student.
Acquaintance with the aspiring politician André Bettencourt led to a marriage in 1950, and three years later, the couple had their only daughter, Françoise. The girl was very attached to her father, who was rarely at home but managed to exert a proper influence on the formation of her only child.
But the girl’s relationship with her mother did not work out. They were too different in character and perception of the world. Lillian loved to be in the spotlight, she enjoyed visiting social events, carefully thinking over each of her outfits, and not skimping on the purchase of jewelry. Françoise preferred the company of a good book to any event, she enthusiastically studied music, practicing new piano parts hour after hour.
Françoise graduated from a Catholic school, and later received a degree in international relations between Christians and Jews and another in Greek mythology. Even at a young age, the girl was considered very withdrawn, but at the same time very intelligent, she even wrote a book about the Greek gods and a huge biblical study.
Disorder with mother
The contradictions between mother and daughter intensified when the latter decided to marry Jean-Pierre Myers. His grandfather was a rabbi and died during the Second World War at Auschwitz. Jean-Pierre was raised in Judaism, but Liliane Bettencourt at one time was a member of the La Cagoule group, known for her collaboration with the Nazis. By the way, La Cagoule was financed by the founder of L’Oreal, Eugene Schüller. Even the appearance of grandchildren did not soften Lillian’s attitude towards her daughter.
Françoise’s grandfather died in 1957, and his daughter Lillian headed the family business and then for many years was included in the list of the richest people on the planet, and in the women’s ranking, she periodically shared the palm with Alice Walton.
The contradictions between mother and daughter led to the fact that the two closest people did not communicate since 2003, although they lived within walking distance of each other. In 2007, Françoise’s father died, and a month later the granddaughter of the founder of L’Oreal went to court. She accused a longtime friend of the photographer’s mother François-Marie Bagnier of using the mental illness and weakness of Liliane Bettencourt to take possession of a large sum of money, works of art, insurance, and money belonging to an elderly lady.
During the trial, many details of Liliane Bettencourt’s activities surfaced that were not at all supposed to be made public, including alleged tax evasion and not fully proven to fund representatives of the Conservative party.
The case dragged on for many years, and only in 2011, Liliane Bettencourt was declared incompetent after a medical examination that revealed a mental disorder in the richest woman in the world. François-Marie Banier was sentenced to three years in prison, and Françoise Bettencourt-Myers and her eldest son were appointed guardians of Liliane Bettencourt.
At the highest level of the rating
Surprisingly, the trials led to a reconciliation between mother and daughter. Liliane Bettencourt later admitted: she should not have given so much to François-Marie Banier.
In September 2017, Françoise’s mother died, and all her property was passed to her daughter. Françoise Bettencourt-Myers became the richest woman in the world. In less than two years, she managed to increase her fortune by several billion dollars.
However, Françoise is not going to rest on her laurels. Together with her, her husband and children work in the concern, and the financial indicators of companies whose shares are owned by the family are growing steadily. According to the president of the company, Jean-Paul Agon, the personality of Françoise Bettencourt-Myers plays an important role in the stability of L’Oreal and the favorable prospects for its development.
The richest woman in the world, as before, does not like close attention to her person and prefers to lead a rather secluded lifestyle. She is actively involved in charity work, serves on the Board of Directors, and runs the Betancourt Schüller Foundation.
