Liliane Bettencourt

In 1950, she married Andre Bettencourt, a prominent French politician and founder of the newspaper La France Agricultural and Le Courrier Cauchois. Her husband served as MP and senator of the Seine-Maritime from 1951 to 1995. This marriage produced one daughter, Françoise. Andre died in 2007.

She was an art collector and her collection, which is worth more than 20 million euros, includes pieces by painters like Chirico, Fernand Léger, Picasso, Girodet, Matisse, Munch, Juan Miro, and Braque.

In 2007, Liliane Bettencourt became the center of a high-profile controversy regarding her relationship with the much younger photographer, François-Marie Banier, who she first met in 1987. The two became friends and she became his chief benefactor.

She was born as Liliane Henriette Charlotte Schueller on 21 October 1922 in Paris, France. She was the only child of Louise Madeleine Berthe (née Doncieux) and Eugène Schueller. Her father was a chemist while her mother was a pianist. Her mother died when Liliane was just five years old and she formed a very close bond with her father.

Eugène Schueller was an enterprising man who had formulated synthetic hair dyes and formed a company to sell them. Eventually, he expanded the business to include other types of cosmetics as well.

Liliane was naturally inclined towards the cosmetic business and joined her father as an apprentice when she was 15 years old. The products of the company, L’Oreal, were available in around 17 countries at that time.

Liliane became the Deputy Chairman of L'Oreal during the 1950s. Her father died in 1957 and she inherited the L’Oreal fortune and became the principal shareholder of the company. The company went public in 1963 though she continued to own a majority stake.

During the early 1970s, she feared that the company might get nationalized and she exchanged half of her stake in L’Oreal for a 3% share in Nestle.

She harbored great ambitions for her company and undertook an extensive expansion strategy. She acquired the luxury beauty brand Lancôme, the American cosmetics company Helena Rubinstein, and the American fashion retailer Ralph Lauren, among others and integrated them into her own business.

Under her direction the company performed very well and grew to become one of the largest cosmetics company in the world. Her wealth increased manifold over the ensuing years and she rose to became one of the wealthiest women in the world.

Bettencourt became a member of the Board of Directors in 1995. She ended her tenure as the Board Director in 2012 and was succeeded by her grandson, Jean-Victor.

Liliane Bettencourt is the recipient of La Légion d'honneur, the highest civilian decoration of France.