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.

On September 12th you'll have your chance to bid on celebrity shoes and help stamp out lung cancer through the Roy Castle Centre's event, De-Feet Lung Cancer Campaign. Fancy a pair from Dame Judi Dench or feel like walking a mile in Harry Potter's shoes? Even Spice Girl Melanie C will have shoes on the auction block. Unfortunately it seems you can't view the shoes before the 12th but when the site goes live get on and put your bid in for a great cause across the pond.

[via Ecorazzi]

The hotel suite where JK Rowling finished the Harry Potter series has become a monument of sorts. Last year, Rowling checked into room 552 of the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland to finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now this suite has been named the JK Rowling Suite and it will be available to guests for £965 per night. The room contains a marble bust of the Greek God Hermes that Rowling signed after she finished the final book. The 180-square-foot suite also includes the desk and bed she used during her stay. A brass plaque is now on the front door and the door knocker has been replaced by a brass owl like those in the books.

[via The Telegraph]

A few days ago I mentioned the real estate dealings of Frankie Muniz. Another young star getting his start in the real estate business is Daniel Radcliffe. The Harry Potter star has bought a Manhattan apartment for just under $4.3 million in the 40 Mercer building in SoHo. The property is now listed for rent at $20,000 a month through Halstead. The 1,843 sq ft fifth-floor apartment has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms and floor to ceiling windows. Amenities in the building include a swimming pool, steam room and concierge services. The purchase was made by Gilmore Jacobs Ltd., the company set up by Radcliffe's parents when he was just 11. The Sun reports that the company is now worth more around $40 million. Now that he is 18, Radcliffe has control of his own funds but hasn't been seen living too much of an extravagant lifestyle yet.

We have all been waiting eagerly to see what projects J.K. Rowling will embark upon in the post-Harry Potter days. News that she has not only chosen a project, but completed it -- a volume of fairy tales entitled The Tales of Beedle the Bard -- is thrilling indeed. Except when you read further. Only seven copies will be printed handwritten. The seventh one (the other six were gifts) will be sold at auction, with a starting price of $62,000. Given that a first-edition Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone sold for $40,000, it seems that this volume will sell for far more.

While the proceeds are headed to charity (surely a laudable goal), something in this news makes me queasy. When J.K. Rowling burst to the scene with her first Harry Potter books, much was made of her struggling, lower-class background: the welfare mom made good. And many pundits have lauded her tales for making reading exciting again for children everywhere. She made literature relevant to even those who were, like she was once, just squeaking by.

So the concept of exclusive literature leaves me cold. If you're interested in the etymology, however, it's more than appropriate: a bard was a poet employed by the wealthy to tell tales of their great deeds. I always thought of J.K. Rowling as something far more free-spirited; but it this bard's tales will only be told to a few.

Update: A commenter pointed out that I was incorrect that these would be printed -- the books are handwritten. However, the commenter says these copies will be available to the public; that is not true according to this source.