The heiress to L’Oreal cosmetic firm and the richest woman in the world, Liliane Bettencourt, has died at age ninety-four. A statement announcing her death was released by her family. It was reported that she died peacefully overnight. In 2012, Bettencourt was in news after she left the company and was diagnosed with dementia.
Her daughter Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers filed a lawsuit over concerns that her mother was being exploited by members of her entourage because of her declining health. According to BBC, in 2008, a photographer who had befriended the heiress was gifted items worth hundreds of millions of dollars including paintings by Picasso and a 670-acre island in the Seychelles. The heiress’ assets were placed in a trust controlled by her daughter.
Meanwhile, one of her two grandchildren, Jean-Victor Meyers, succeeded her on the company’s board as vice chairman. L’Oreal group is the largest cosmetics company in the world. It was founded in 1909 by her father, Eugene Scheller, as a hair dye company.
May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace.