The position of the world's richest female billionaire changes hands

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the fortune of Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, has skyrocketed to $95.7 billion.

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers stunned the world when she became the first woman to amass a fortune worth $100 billion late last year, through her stake in French cosmetics giant L'Oréal.

She held the title of richest woman for several months, although her fortune has dropped to $89.9 billion since the start of 2024.

But Ms. Bettencourt Meyers has just lost her throne to the heiress of another business empire on the other side of the Atlantic.

Ms. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the fortune of Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, has skyrocketed to $95.7 billion.

Walmart's stock price has risen more than 43% since the beginning of 2024, supporting Ms. Walton's fortune.

The two women are members of families with long legacies in beauty and mass retailing. L'Oréal was founded 115 years ago in Paris and is ranked 90th on the Fortune 500 Europe list of the 500 largest companies by revenue.

Meanwhile, Walmart is the world's largest retailer and ranked No. 1 on the Fortune 500 global list for the 12th consecutive year, with revenue of $648 billion for fiscal year 2024 (ending January 31, 2024).

Ms. Bettencourt Meyers (71 years old) is currently the chairwoman of the parent company that holds the majority of L'Oréal called Téthys, and is also Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Directors at L'Oréal.

Bettencourt Meyers and her family own about 35% of L'Oréal. She is known for being private, so little is known about her life outside of L'Oréal. Her two sons both sit on the company's board of directors.

L'Oréal is one of the French jewels in the business world.

But Ms. Bettencourt Meyers' fortune is still far behind that of LVMH's CEO, Mr. Bernard Arnault, whose current net worth is $196 billion. Meanwhile, Ms. Walton is a philanthropist and is currently the 18th richest person in the world.

She co-runs Walton Enterprises, the company that operates Walmart and where the bulk of her wealth comes from.

Mrs. Walton shares a stake in the company her father founded with her brothers Rob, Jim and John Walton.

She is now a philanthropist and founded the non-profit Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, to which she and the Walton family donated her art collection as well as a 120-acre plot of land.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/vi-tri-nu-ty-phu-giau-nhat-the-gioi-doi-chu-20240830114841551.htm