Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, inheritor to the L’Oréal SA fortune and Europe’s richest lady, will retire from the corporate’s board later this yr in an surprising transfer that implies succession to the following technology is beginning to take maintain.
Bettencourt Meyers, 71, will hand her function as vice-chairman to her son, Jean-Victor Meyers, 38, who’s already a director, as is his youthful brother, Nicolas. She is going to cede her board seat to Alexandre Benais, who heads Tethys Make investments, the household’s funding automobile.
The adjustments are set to take impact after a shareholder vote at L’Oréal’s annual normal assembly in April, the cosmetics firm stated in its earnings assertion Thursday. The heiress has served on the board for 28 years.
The Bettencourt Meyers household owns a stake of about 35 p.c in L’Oréal, valuing its wealth at about $76 billion in response to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Shares in L’Oréal have erased a couple of fifth of their worth up to now 12 months amid a requirement downturn for cosmetics, notably in China. In December 2023, Bettencourt Meyers briefly grew to become the primary lady on this planet to amass a $100 billion fortune, which was a milestone for her and for France’s style and cosmetics industries.
Run by executives from exterior the household for many years, L’Oréal was based in 1909 by Bettencourt Meyers’ chemist grandfather, Eugene Schueller, to supply and promote a hair dye he had developed.
Bettencourt Meyers retains her life non-public, shunning the glitzy social life sought by many the world’s rich. She has written two books — a five-volume examine of the Bible and a family tree of the Greek gods — and is understood for taking part in piano for hours on daily basis.
By Tara Patel and Angelina Rascouet
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L’Oréal Inheritor Francoise Bettencourt Meyers Turns into First Lady With $100 Billion Fortune
Her wealth jumped to $100.1 billion on Dec. 28, 2023, in response to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The milestone got here as shares of L’Oréal SA, the sweetness merchandise empire based by her grandfather, rose to a file excessive, with the inventory set for its finest yr since 1998.