Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the heiress to the L’Oréal fortune and granddaughter of company founder Eugène Schueller, has overtaken Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani in global wealth rankings. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index places her wealth at $98 billion, making her the 18th richest person in the world.
At 72, Bettencourt Meyers has seen her fortune climb by nearly $24 billion in 2025, a rise of about 32 per cent over the past eight months. The increase comes on the back of a strong performance from L’Oréal shares, which have risen 17 percent this year and are trading close to $400. With a 35 percent stake in the cosmetics giant, she has directly benefited from the company’s steady growth.
The updated index shows her ahead of Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, whose net worth is estimated at $97 billion. Ambani has long been regarded as Asia’s wealthiest individual, backed by Reliance’s sprawling businesses in energy, telecommunications, and retail.
Bettencourt Meyers’s latest leap underscores the effect of L’Oréal’s robust market showing, which has elevated her above one of the most influential names in the global industry. Her financial gains this year are greater than those of several high-profile business figures such as Alphabet co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Pop Mart’s Wang Ning, and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, who each added between $17 billion and $21 billion to their fortunes in the same period.
By securing the 18th spot on Bloomberg’s list, Bettencourt Meyers has strengthened her position among the world’s wealthiest individuals, with her fortune narrowly surpassing that of Ambani.
