L'Oreal Heiress Liliane Bettencourt Dies At 94

Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L'Oreal fortune, attends French designer Franck Sorbier's Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2011 fashion show in Paris, France, January 26, 2011

Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the cosmetic company L’Oreal and the world's wealthiest woman, died Thursday at her home in France, according to her family. She was 94.

Bettencourt owned a 33 percent stake in the Paris-based company. Bloomberg estimated her net worth at $42.5 billion.

L’Oreal chairman and chief executive Jean-Paul Agon released a statement highlighting Bettencourt’s contributions to the company.

“We all had a great admiration for Liliane Bettencourt, who always looked after L’Oreal, the company and its employees, and was very attached to its success and development,” said Agon. “[She] was a great lady of beauty who has left us and whom we will never forget.”

Bettencourt was the daughter of French pharmacist Eugène Schueller, who founded L’Oreal in 1909 in Paris. The company was first registered as Société Française de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux.

Bettencourt is survived by her only daughter, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. Bettencourt’s husband, André Bettencourt, died in 2007.

“In this painful moment for us, I would like to reiterate, on behalf of our family, our entire commitment and loyalty to L’Oreal and to renew my confidence in its President Jean-Paul Agon and his teams worldwide,” said Bettencourt Meyers, who is part of L’Oreal’s board, in a statement.

Bettencourt served as the board director of L’Oreal until 2012.

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