Liliane Bettencourt, the 88-year-old L’Oréal heiress who is France’s richest woman, has lost her bitter three-year battle against her own daughter Francoise Meyers-Bettencourt to retain control of her €15bn fortune.
A French court ruled on Monday that Mrs Bettencourt was no longer fit to run the family fortune, including her 31 per cent stake in the world’s largest cosmetic company founded by her father. The judge in the Courbevoie court near Paris placed the heiress under the protection of her family.
Her lawyers immediately said they would appeal the ruling which nonetheless comes into immediate effect. This means that Mrs Bettencourt, diagnosed by doctors to be suffering from “mixed dementia” and “modestly severe” Alzheimer’s, will be placed under guardianship with her daughter and grandsons looking after her wealth and property.