Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and her family are ranked No. 20 on the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list with a net worth of $100 billion. She is the only child of Liliane Bettencourt and the granddaughter of L’Oréal’s founder.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers was born on July 10, 1953. She is the only child of Liliane Bettencourt and the granddaughter of Eugène Schueller, who founded L’Oréal. She is a French entrepreneur, philanthropist and writer.
Net Worth and Rank
- Forbes 2026 list: No. 20, with $100 billion, listed as “Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & family”
- Source of wealth: L’Oréal; she and her family own a 33% stake in the company
Inheritance
Her mother died in September 2017, when her net worth was about $39.5 billion. According to Wikipedia, her fortune then tripled through investments by her family holding company, Téthys Invest, and the high valuation of L’Oréal shares.
Family and Writing
She married Jean-Pierre Meyers, a business executive, and converted to Judaism; they raised their sons, Jean-Victor and Nicolas, as Jewish. Her marriage drew controversy because her grandfather Eugène Schueller had been prosecuted for collaboration with the Nazi government. Raised Catholic, she has written Bible commentaries, including the five-volume Regard sur la Bible (2008).
The Bettencourt Affair
In 2008 she sued the photographer François-Marie Banier for taking money from her mother and started proceedings to have her mother declared mentally incompetent. Secret recordings used as evidence led to the Woerth–Bettencourt scandal in France. In December 2010 she settled out of court with both her mother and Banier.
Notre-Dame
After the fire at Notre-Dame de Paris, Bettencourt Meyers and L’Oréal pledged $226 million towards its repair.
Why It Matters
L’Oréal is the world’s largest cosmetics company, and the Bettencourt family’s stake makes her one of the richest women in the world.
Net worth figures change daily with share prices. Rankings here follow the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list, with wealth measured on March 1, 2026.
Image: L’Oréal’s Spanish headquarters in Madrid (file photo; Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is not pictured). Photo: Zarateman / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
