Francoise Bettencourt Meyers becomes first woman with $100 billion fortune
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New York: Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, who owns cosmetic brand L'Oreal SA, became the first woman to amass a $100 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Meyers has pulled off the distinction of being the 12th-richest person in the world after her wealth jumped to $100.1 billion on Thursday, just behind Mexico's Carlos Slim.
The spurt in wealth has become a milestone for L'Oreal SA, which was founded by her grandfather.
Nevertheless huge leap in wealth, Bettencourt Meyers' wealth still falls significantly behind that of Bernard Arnault with $179 billion, who founded French luxury brand LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.
Bettencourt Meyers, aged 70, and her family are the single biggest shareholders with a stake of nearly 35% where she is vice-chair of the board of L'Oreal.
L'Oreal is widely popular 241 billion pounds ($268 billion) company with her Her sons, Jean-Victor Meyers and Nicolas Meyer serving as directors.
Bettencourt Meyers' grandfather Eugene Schueller, who was a chemist, set up the company to manufacture and sell a hair dye he had developed.
Bettencourt Meyers is often termed as reclusive, perhaps as she keeps her life private and takes time off to writing books including a study on the Bible and a genealogy of the Greek gods.