Lillian Bettencourt dead: L’Oreal heiress and world’s richest woman dies aged 94
LILLIAN Bettencourt, the world’s richest woman and heiress to French cosmetics giant L’Oreal, has died aged 94.
A statement released today said she had died “peacefully” at her Paris home.
The mother-of-one was the world’s wealthiest woman with a net worth of €33billion (£29billion).
Her vast fortune made her the 14th richest person in the world, according to Forbes.
Throughout her life, Ms Bettencourt donated millions of dollars to education, museums and medical research.
A great woman of beauty has left us and we will never forget her
A statement from L’Oreal’s chairman and CEO, Jean-Paul Agon, said: "We all had a deep admiration for Liliane Bettencourt who has always watched over L'Oreal, the company and its employees, and who was very attached to its success and development.
"She personally contributed a lot to its success for very many years. A great woman of beauty has left us and we will never forget her.”
Ms Bettencourt held a majority stake in L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics firm, and sat on the company’s board until retiring in 2012.
But she continued to make headlines due to her involvement in a long-running legal battle.
In 2007, Ms Bettencourt’s daughter, Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, filed charges against celebrity photographer Francois-Marie Banier.
She alleged that Banier had taken advantage of her mother, who had spent hundreds of millions of euros on gifts for him - including original artwork by Picasso.
Ms Bettencourt argued that she spend her money however she liked, but it was later revealed that she had been suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Eight people were eventually found guilty of exploiting the then 92-year-old.
Banier was jailed for three years and ordered to pay €158million (£138million) in damages.
During the court battle, it was also alleged that Ms Bettencourt’s financial manager, Patrice de Maistre, had funnelled off cash from the heiress’s fortune to help fund French President Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign.
Mr Sarkozy continually denied any wrongdoing, and charges relating to illegal funding were dropped in 2013.