Francoise Bettencourt Meyers inherited her fortune.

This isn’t a Paris Hilton situation, though. The fortune has its origins in the ingenuity and hard work of her grandmother, Eugène Schueller, who invented hair dyes, and founded the massive global cosmetics brand L’Oréal.

Following the death of her mother, Liliane Bettencourt, Francoise, who has been a member of the board of directors at the company since 1997, debuted on Forbes World’s Billionaires list.

In 2019, she holds the top spot as the richest woman in the world, with a net worth of $49.3 billion:

Bettencourt Meyers’ fortune increased by $7.1 billion, or 17%, since last year thanks to stellar results at the makeup giant, of which she and her immediate family own a 33% stake. An estimated 90% of her wealth is tied to shares of the company, which recorded its best sales growth in more than a decade last year with total revenue coming in at $30.6 billion.

Revenue in Asia Pacific jumped 20%, driven by China; the region has now overtaken North America in terms of sales.

Bettencourt Meyers lives in Paris, is chairwoman of the company, and acts as president of her family’s Bettencourt Schueller Foundation – a philanthropic foundation that encourages French progress in science and the arts, giving money and support to projects in life sciences, social progress and traditional crafts.

While it’s Bettencourt Meyers’ first official year as richest woman, her name is no stranger to the spot. For the past decade, the world’s richest woman has either been a Bettencourt or Walton. In fact Bettencourt Meyers first overtook Alice Walton, last year’s richest woman, in March 2018, just days after we finalized our annual list.

That’s Alice Walton, the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton.

Bettencourt Meyers’ mother was the richest woman for most of the first 14 years Forbes published the billionaires’ list.

For a real-time look at how the billionaires of the world are doing in the rankings, you can go here.

Jeff Bezos is currently in the top spot, while Bettencourt Meyers is at number 14. These two have an interesting connection, because if MacKenzie Bezos gets half of the Bezos fortune in the divorce, she will unseat Bettencourt Meyers as the richest woman in the world.

Before you’re on your way, Seth insists that we give you a link to the only book that he’s actually read cover to cover in the past year  – The Bettencourt Affair.

He swears it’s fascinating:

Heiress to the nearly forty-billion-dollar L’Oréal fortune, Liliane Bettencourt was the world’s richest woman and the fourteenth wealthiest person. But her gilded life took a dark yet fascinating turn in the past decade. At ninety-four, she was embroiled in what has been called the Bettencourt Affair, a scandal that dominated the headlines in France. Why? It’s a tangled web of hidden secrets, divided loyalties, frayed relationships, and fractured families, set in the most romantic city—and involving the most glamorous industry—in the world.

Snap up the eBook here, and we also found it on Takealot.

[source:forbes]