Liliane Bettencourt, World's Richest Woman Dies At 94

Billionaire heiress to the L'Oreal cosmetics firm, Liliane Bettencourt, has died at the age of 94

A statement from her family confirmed she died 'peacefully' overnight

She was worth an estimated $40bn, making her the world's richest woman

Her father, Eugen Shcueller, started a hair dye company in 1909, which expanded and later became the L'Oreal group.

She became intern at L'Oreal at the age of 15 labeling bottles and blending cosmetics

She became a majority shareholder after her father's death in 1957 - heir to the family fortune

Bettencourt maintained majority stake in L'Oreal when the company went public in 1963




She retired from the company's board of directors in 2012 but continued to own a third of the company

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.