Liliane Bettencourt was born on October 21, 1922. She was a French heiress, businesswoman, and philanthropist. As one of the principal shareholders of L’Oréal, she was considered one of the richest individuals in the world, with an estimated fortune of $23.5 billion USD.
Bettencourt was born in Paris, France, the only daughter of Eugène Schueller, the founder of L’Oréal, one of the world’s largest cosmetics and beauty companies. Her mother passed away in 1927, when Liliane was just five years old. She developed a close bond with her father, who later married her British governess, also named Liliane. At the age of 15, she joined her father’s company as an apprentice, mixing cosmetics and labeling shampoo bottles.
In 1950, Liliane married André Bettencourt, a French politician who served as a cabinet minister in several governments during the 1960s and 1970s, and later became vice president of L’Oréal. André Bettencourt had been a member of La Cagoule, a violent French fascist group that her father had supported and financed during the 1930s — a group known for its collaboration with the Nazis during World War II.
After the war, like other members of La Cagoule, André Bettencourt found refuge at L’Oréal despite his politically controversial past. The Bettencourts eventually settled in a modernist mansion built in 1951 on Rue de Delabordère in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. They had one daughter, Françoise, born on July 10, 1953.
In 1957, Liliane Bettencourt inherited the L’Oréal fortune after the death of her father, becoming the company’s principal shareholder. In 1963, the company went public on the stock exchange, although Bettencourt continued to hold a majority stake. In 1974, she traded nearly half of her stake in L’Oréal in exchange for a 3% share in Nestlé S.A.
In 1987, Liliane Bettencourt, together with her husband and daughter, founded the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation to support and promote medical, cultural, and humanitarian projects. The foundation is headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
With an annual budget of approximately £160 million, the foundation allocates about 55% of its funds to scientific education and research, 33% to humanitarian and social initiatives, and 12% to culture and the arts.
Liliane Bettencourt remained an influential figure in both business and philanthropy for decades.