L'Oréal Heiress is the World's Richest Woman
Liliane Bettencourt (right), daughter of the man who founded cosmetics giant L'Oréal, tops Forbes' just-released list of the richest women in Europe with a fortune of $22.9 billion. That astounding figure also makes her the world's richest woman, the magazine notes. Bettencourt, whose father's reputation has occasionally come under fire, uses her money to fund a charitable foundation which supports medical research, cultural projects and humanitarian relief. At the No. 2 spot on the Euro list is Swedish citizen Birgit Rausing, a packaging heiress with an estimated fortune of $14 billion, while No. 3 is BMW and pharmaceuticals heiress Susanne Klatten, with $13.2 billion. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling meanwhile is in last place at No. 22, barely making the list with a measly $1 billion. It's worth noting that Germany has the most female billionaires of any European nation, with nine of them living within its borders. You can see a gallery of the loaded ladies here.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GlobalDia Aug 28th 2008 10:06AM
its nice to see a billionaire spend their money on medical research and humanitarian projects and NOT go out and buy $100mio houses/boats/paintings and other such nonsense...i wish some russians or arabs would take note of this.
samuel Sep 4th 2008 6:34PM
i am pleased with Bill Gates,Melinda Gates and Heiress for their charity work,they should keep it up.:-D Thanks
Mary Nakakande Sep 23rd 2008 9:45AM
am a ugandan, is it possible you can make contributions to my education? if so am grateful my family doesnot afford am working but earning below minimum wage i look after my young brothers and sisters plus other needs of the family am longing to further my education
Thanx