News about Liliane Bettencourt

L'Oreal scion Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, who has vast inherited wealth from her grandparents, was toppled from the top of the list in recent weeks but a surge in Luxury European stock has reinstated the billionaire above the previous title holder, Walmart heiress Alice Walton. (Pictured from left: Francoise Bettencourt Meyers. Inset: Alice Walton)

Although there isn't much to admire about the French beauty mogul, it's still an uphill battle for any billionaire to dethrone the 70-year-old whose fortune has risen to an estimated $99.5 billion. Bettencourt Meyers - the granddaughter of L'Oreal founder Eugene Schueller's - has inherited a large share of the French beauty behemoth, which she and her husband Jean-Pierre Meyers and their two children own. Jean-Pierre is the grandson of Rabbi Robert Meyers, who was assassinated in Auschwitz in 1943, and the couple's children, Jean-Victor and Nicolas Meyers, were raised Jewish. Their marriage ignited controversy during the Second World War as her L'Oreal founding grandfather was charged with 'economic and political involvement' with the Nazis during the Second World War, although a postwar tribunal later cleared him. According to the annual Forbes list, Bettencourt Meyers came out on top after L'Oreal's share price increased 20% this year as she increased her fortune by a massive $19 billion.

Prada and Yves Saint Laurent, as well as Lancome, are among the family businesses' brands. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the granddaughter of the L'Oreal founder and now the world's richest woman, has a more understated appearance. A pair of large, heavy-rimmed glasses and a vibrant scarf, often worn with a practical trouser suit, are among the 70-year-old's most popular items. She doesn't have a black eyeliner, and when not dealing with company affairs she writes books.

The French businesswoman, 70, reached a milestone after her L'Oreal, which was founded by her grandfather in 1909, reached a new record. According to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index, a recent share price rise has brought Ms Bettencourt Meyer's fortune to around $100.2 billion. Ms Bettencourt Meyers, the world's richest woman, inherited her fortune after her mother Liliane Bettencourt's death in 2017.

On Wednesday, the Paris Appeal Court ruled that two years will be postponed, and that the 68-year-old can wear an electronic tag rather than sitting in a cell for the third year. Sarkozy and his counsel, Thierry Herzog, were found guilty in 2021 of promising to bribe a judge in exchange for private information. It was related to yet another corruption probe, focusing on whether Sarkozy accepted illicit contributions from late L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt to fund his 2007 election campaign. Sarkozy's 2021 guilty verdict made him the first former French president to be found guilty of graft while in office.