Liliane Bettencourt (born 1922) is the richest person in France and one of the wealthiest people in the world. Forbes magazine placed her as the world's 16th richest billionaire in 2005, with $17.2 bn.

Liliane was the only child of Eugène Schueller, the founder of L'Oréal. Her mother died when she was 5 years old, in 1927. In June 1950, she married French politician André Bettencourt. She now lives in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, and has one child, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (born 1953), who sits on L'Oréal's board of directors.

In 1957, Bettencourt inherited the L'Oréal fortune from her father. She is the principal shareholder of L'Oréal, the world's leading company in cosmetics and beauty. The company ownership breakdown: 27.5% by Liliane Bettencourt, 26.4% by Nestlé, the remaining 46.1% are publically traded.

Bettencourt's family has a reputation for secrecy, partially due to controversy surrounding allegations of collusion of her father, her husband and their associates with the Vichy France regime and the Nazis during World War II.

Outside Links

• Official website of L'Oréal
• Forbes Magazine Article on Liliane Bettencourt
• Forbes article: Father's Past Haunts French Billionaire
• Book Review of Bitter Scent by Michael Bar-Zohar