The biggest billionaire wears no jewelry, refuses to cut his hair and takes lessons from nuns

Stripped of vanity and media-averse, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is the antithesis of what is expected of a super-rich woman living in Paris

Every morning, after breakfast, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers sits at the piano (she has two in the living room) and plays for a while. It has become a ritual to start the day well. “Music is my oxygen”, she told the magazine ‘M Le Mag’ of the newspaper ‘Le Monde’.

The 70-year-old Frenchwoman, owner of 33% of the shares of the L’Oréal group, has been the richest woman on the planet since 2017. According to “Forbes” she owns 99.5 billion dollars, equal to R$502 billion. She occupies 15th place in the ranking of the world’s largest billionaires, dominated by men.

Despite her fortune, she does not live in a villa, she does not dress in high fashion, she does not wear jewellery, she does not like going to parties, she does not have an art collection, she does not travel to the places favored by the super-rich, she does not show on social media.

Although her mother, the socialite Liliane Bettencourt, was extremely vain and fascinated by luxury and glamour, Françoise preferred the influence of the nuns at the Catholic school where she had studied. She has chosen to live simply and discreetly, favoring intellectuality.

In opposition to the cosmetics empire she inherited, she rarely wears makeup, has long hair with natural frizz for decades and hides behind thick-rimmed retro glasses.

He simply refuses to have a public image. She wants maximum privacy for herself, for her husband Jean-Pierre and for her children Jean-Victor and Nicolas. The boys’ voices were never heard. Françoise did not want to live in the chic neighborhoods of Paris. She lives in an ordinary three-story building in a quiet suburb, Neuilly-sur-Seine.

After completing high school, the billionaire entered the mathematics faculty, but dropped out after a year. He dedicated himself to various studies. He has published books on the Greek gods and on the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. He has also published on hearing and deafness.

Attached since childhood, Françoise gradually distances herself from Liliane due to the conflict of styles. The matriarch even complained about her daughter to the press. “He’s heavy and slow,” she said, according to ‘Vanity Fair’ magazine. In a rare interview, the heiress denied being jealous. “My mother has always been beautiful, yes, but I have never felt the slightest rivalry.”

When the socialite preferred the company of party-loving and greedy friends, her daughter cut off contact. One sentence sums up her thoughts on spending and exhibitionism. “Money drives people crazy.” The two went years without seeing each other even though they lived a block apart.

The writer only resurfaced when her mother was widowed in 2007 and was manipulated by a photographer who had already stolen paintings, jewels and a large amount of money from her family. A national scandal ensued, which even led to illegal donations being reported to the then French president, Nicolás Sarkozy.

Françoise managed to prove that Liliane suffered from mental problems and was no longer capable of managing her assets. She took control of her finances, kept the vultures away and took care of her mother until her death in 2017, when she received her inheritance and became the richest woman of the world.

In addition to music and literature, he is involved in philanthropy. He chairs the Fondation Bettencourt Schueller. Every year, the institute invests the equivalent of R$350 million in scientific projects, scholarships for art students and charitable actions such as the donation of hearing aids.

Source: Terra

Ashley

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