This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41355179
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt dies at 94 | L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt dies at 94 |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Liliane Bettencourt, the heiress to cosmetics firm L'Oreal, has died aged 94, her family has confirmed. | Liliane Bettencourt, the heiress to cosmetics firm L'Oreal, has died aged 94, her family has confirmed. |
| A statement said she had died at home "peacefully" overnight. | |
| With an estimated 2017 net worth of 33bn euros (£30bn; $40bn), she was the world's richest woman. | With an estimated 2017 net worth of 33bn euros (£30bn; $40bn), she was the world's richest woman. |
| She left the company's board in 2012 and was rarely seen in public afterwards, but remained in the news because of a high-profile exploitation case following her dementia diagnosis. | |
| In a statement, the company's chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Agon said: "We all had a deep admiration for Liliane Bettencourt who has always watched over L'Oreal, the company and its employees, and who was very attached to its success and development. | |
| "She personally contributed a lot to its success for very many years. A great woman of beauty has left us and we will never forget her." | "She personally contributed a lot to its success for very many years. A great woman of beauty has left us and we will never forget her." |
| The heiress became embroiled in a public feud with her estranged daughter, Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, in 2007. | |
| Ms Bettencourt-Meyers filed a lawsuit over concerns that her mother was being exploited by members of her entourage amid declining health. | |
| It was revealed in 2008 that a photographer who had befriended the heiress, François-Marie Banier, was gifted items worth hundreds of millions of dollars - including paintings by Picasso and a 670-acre island in the Seychelles. | |
| Ms Bettencourt-Meyers said she took legal action against Mr Banier after learning from her mother's household staff that she was allegedly considering adopting him. | |
| The mother and daughter reconciled their relationship in 2010, and a French judge ordered Ms Bettencourt be put under the guardianship of her family a year later because of her failing health. | |
| But the family exploitation case then escalated to a political scandal after it was claimed that Ms Bettencourt's financial manager, Patrice de Maistre, had extracted money from her to go towards former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election bid. | |
| The alleged illegal funding was investigated, although Mr Sarkozy consistently rejected all accusations of impropriety and French prosecutors dropped all charges relating to him in 2013. | |
| The rest of the exploitation case was eventually resolved in May 2015 when eight people, including Mr Banier, were convicted and instructed to pay millions in damages to the family. | |
| The L'Oreal empire | |
| Ms Bettencourt's assets, including her holding stake in the cosmetics company, were placed in a trust controlled by her daughter. | |
| One of her two grandchildren, Jean-Victor Meyers, succeeded her on L'Oreal's board as vice chairman, and was named to guard her personal affairs. | |
| Her father, Eugène Schueller, founded a hair dye company in 1909, which then turned into the L'Oreal group. | |
| It is now the world's largest cosmetics company. |