Meet Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the 72-year-old French woman who’s having the kind of year that makes your crypto gains look like pocket change. She’s up $24 billion in 2025 alone, bringing her net worth to a casual $98 billion. That’s billion with a B, folks.
How’d she do it? Well, she didn’t launch a tech startup or invent the next big app. She inherited a 35% stake in L’Oréal from her mom and watched the beauty giant’s stock climb 17% this year. Sometimes the best investment strategy is being born into the right family – who knew?
Bettencourt Meyers is the granddaughter of L’Oréal founder Eugène Schueller, which means every time someone buys Maybelline mascara or splurges on Lancôme skincare, she gets a little richer. It’s like having a royalty check from everyone’s beauty routine.
The numbers are honestly wild. She’s now the 18th richest person globally, sitting just above India’s Mukesh Ambani (worth $97 billion) and just below Walmart heiress Alice Walton ($118 billion). She’s basically in a three-way race for “richest woman alive” and currently holding silver.
Here’s the thing that’ll make you question your life choices: Bettencourt Meyers was the sixth-biggest wealth gainer this year, outpacing Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. While you’re googling “how to get rich quick,” she’s literally making more money than the guys who created Google.
L’Oréal’s been crushing it lately. The company reported solid first-half growth with revenues up 3% across all product categories. Translation: people are still buying expensive face cream even when everything else costs more. Beauty spending is apparently recession-proof.
JPMorgan even upgraded L’Oréal stock from “underweight” to “neutral” in July, which in Wall Street speak means “okay, maybe this beauty thing isn’t going anywhere.” Revolutionary insight, guys.
The irony? Bettencourt Meyers actually retired from L’Oréal’s board in April after 28 years. She handed the reins to her son Jean-Victor and basically said, “I’m out, but I’ll keep the 35% ownership, thanks.” That’s the ultimate passive income move.
She first hit the $100 billion club in late 2023, making her the first woman to reach that milestone. Then L’Oréal stock took a dive, dropping her below $75 billion to start 2025. But like any good comeback story, she’s bounced back stronger than ever.
So what’s the takeaway here? While you’re debating whether to buy name-brand or store-brand beauty products, remember that somewhere in France, a woman is making billions because millions of people choose the name brand. Maybe there’s something to that whole “invest in what people can’t live without” strategy after all.
Next time you’re at the drugstore, just remember: every L’Oréal purchase is basically a small donation to making Françoise Bettencourt Meyers even richer. You’re welcome, Françoise.