CLICHY (dpa-AFX) - L'Oreal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers became the richest woman and the 12th richest person in the world after her net worth crossed the $100 billion mark on Thursday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Meyers is the granddaughter of Eugene Schueller who founded L'Oreal in 1909. She inherited the company's shares from her mother Liliane Bettencourt in 2017.
She is the chairwoman of Tethys, the largest shareholder of L'Oreal, and vice chairwoman of L'Oreal Group's Board. Her sons, Nicholas and Jean-Victor Meyers, work as directors. Meyers and her family own more than 34% stake in the company.
After a slow business period during the pandemic, the company's shares have recently started gaining momentum. This year, L'Oreal achieved an all-time high of a 35% increase, boosting Meyers' fortune by $28 billion.
Elon Musk topped the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $232 billion. Meyers is positioned just ahead of India's Mukesh Ambani and behind Mexico's Carlos Slim, who recently became the first person from Latin America to have a net worth of more than $100 billion.
Meyers husband Bernard Arnault ranked second in the index with a fortune of $179 billion. Arnault is the founder and CEO of LVMH, a French luxury goods company.
L'Oreal which also owns Lancome, Prada and Yves Saint Laurent reported revenue of approximately $42 billion in 2022, according to the company reports.
Earlier this year, L'Oreal made its biggest brand acquisition by buying Aesop, an Australian brand, for $2.5 billion.
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