Richest woman in the world has already made £9 billion this year
Topics: Money
Annie Walton Doyle
Featured Image Credit: MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images/Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Topics: Money
We're all feeling the pinch at this time of year.
Except for Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, that is.
She's already the richest woman in the world, and it's now been revealed she's raked in an impressive £9 billion in the past year alone.
But she's not entirely self-made.
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Actually, a large portion of Francoise's wealth is thanks to a family connection.
Her grandfather founded one of the biggest beauty brands in the world - and now Francoise holds a large stake in the company.
Francoise's grandfather is the L'Oreal founder Eugène Schueller.
The work of her grandad had already set Francoise up for life.
She holds a 33 percent stake in the family business and has served on the brand's board since 1997.
Francoise also holds the position of chairwoman within the family holding company.
And as for the richest woman in the world before Francoise took the title?
Well, it was none other than her mother Liliane Bettencourt.
Francoise was her only child, and so inherited her mother's fortune and the title of the world's richest woman when she passed away in 2017.
According to Forbes, thanks to the extra wealth she's gained this year, Francoise is now worth a staggering $93 billion (£74bn).
This means she's gained $12 billion (£9bn) on her $80.5 billion (£64bn) fortune.
Francoise's boost in fortune is largely thanks to her stakes in L'Oreal.
This year, the stock price of the company increased by a whopping 27.08 percent.
So, Francoise holds the gold medal for the richest woman in the world, but who are the runners up?
Walmart heiress and philanthropist Alice Walton ranks as the second richest woman in the world, as she boasts a net worth of $60.3 billion (£48bn).
While in third place there's Julia Koch, with a fortune of $57.7 billion (£46bn) after she inherited a stake in Koch Industries from her late husband David.
However, these women still have a way to go to catch up with the world's richest men.
Francoise is only 14th on the all-genders list, so we guess there's always room for improvement.
In terms of the only slighty mega rich, Rihanna recently took the title of the richest self-made woman in the music industry. The pop superstar's wealth at an eye watering $1.4 billion.
Taylor Swift also recently became a billionaire following the success of her Eras Tour.
Weirdly enough, that all sounds like small potatoes now we've heard about Francoise!