The net worth of the world’s wealthiest woman, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, experienced a significant decline on Friday, attributed to L’Oreal’s shares plummeting. The French beauty company, owned in part by the billionaire and her family, recorded its worst single-day performance since the Great Recession.
KEY FACTS
- On Friday, Bettencourt Meyers and her family’s wealth dropped by $6.9 billion to $91.7 billion, marking her as the most substantial loser among billionaires for the day, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire tracker.
- Despite the downturn, Bettencourt Meyers, heavily reliant on her family’s stake in the cosmetics giant, retains the 15th spot among the world’s richest individuals. She surpasses the second-richest woman, Walmart heiress Alice Walton, by approximately $26 billion.
- L’Oreal’s stock experienced an almost 8% decline, reaching a three-month low on Friday, following a slowdown in its Asia business, leading to quarterly sales falling below analyst expectations.
SURPRISING FACT
- FactSet data reveals that Friday marked the single worst day for Paris-listed shares of L’Oreal since October 27, 2008.
KEY BACKGROUND
- Bettencourt Meyers, the granddaughter of L’Oreal founder Eugène Schueller and the sole daughter of former wealthiest woman Liliane Bettencourt, holds the position of vice chairwoman on L’Oreal’s board. L’Oreal ranks as Europe’s sixth-most valuable company by market capitalization, trailing only Novo Nordisk, Nestlé, ASML, LVMH, and Hermés. The company’s subsidiaries include Kiehl’s, Maybelline, and Garnier.