70-year-old Francoise Bettencourt Meyers [ not pictured ], the heir to the L'Oreal beauty empire, is now the first woman to amass a fortune of more than 100-billion dollars.
© Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
(New York, NY) – The world’s wealthiest woman has reached a new milestone. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, 70-year-old Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is the first woman to ever amass a fortune in excess of $100 billion. She’s the heir to the L’Oreal beauty empire, and just reached that mark on Thursday of this week — as the cosmetics company’s share price hit a record high.
A native of France, Bettencourt Meyers owns around one-third of L’Oreal and oversees the family’s ownership of the company. Company executives have managed L’Oreal for decades. It was founded in 1909 by Bettencourt Meyers grandfather, who was a chemist. Originally the company sold hair dyes.
A noted philanthropist, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is said to play the piano for hours daily and has written two books, but otherwise maintains a highly private life.
