The title of being the world’s richest female goes to Françoise Bettencourt Meyers who boasts a net worth of a staggering £80 billion from the cosmetics industry.
She is the granddaughter of Eugène Schueller, the founder of L’Oréal, with Meyers inheriting her eye-watering fortune after the death of her mother, Liliane Bettencourt, in 2017.
Despite holding such a prestigious title, Meyers has spent a lifetime being discreet about her wealth and has always transcended the cliché of the millionaire heiress.
She has leaned more towards being an intellectual rather than a social butterfly, finding solace in her classical music and endless books that fill her modest two-bedroom home.
Born in 1953, she studied at the Marymount school with Anglo-Saxon nuns teaching her the art of being unperturbed.
Later she was withdrawn from school as her parents feared for her safety where she was then homeschooled away from the potential dangers of kidnapping.
Speaking of her relationship with her parents, Meyers said in an interview with Le M Magazine: “I have always been very close to my parents, perhaps even more so to my mother.
“My father was in politics and was often absent, but she was the bridge.”
Despite being the bridge, the mother-daughter relationship came under intense strain after claims Liliane Bettencourt was not in her right mind when she gave gifts worth nearly £850million to a charming society photographer.
But the dispute was later settled, with Olivier Metzner, lawyer for Bettencourt Meyers, saying at the time: “Liliane and Françoise have been reunited and want to end all this arguing.
“We are bringing an end to all procedures following this family reconciliation. There is no more case as far as we are concerned.”
When she was 19, Françoise met Jean Pierre-Meyers, her future husband with the couple later having two sons.
On December 28, 2023, Meyers officially became the richest woman in the world.
She was also the first woman to break through the £800 million ($100 billion) barrier as Bloomberg reports – due to the rise in L’Oréal shares.
In an interview in her home with the newspaper Le Monde she said: “Again, I know that I’m privileged but, as you can see, I don’t live in a mansion. We are not big art collectors and, as you can see, I don’t wear jewellery.”
Instead, Meyers chairs the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation championing causes such as the arts, sciences, and social inclusion.
Continuing L’Oréal’s legacy is also dear to her heart thanks to her meticulous attention to commitment and detail.
She’s an accomplished author and prefers showing off her intellectual depth alongside her business acumen rather than most other things associated with wealth.
Today, the heiress enjoys the most priceless possession of the mega-rich, complete anonymity.
