All of us, at some point of time in our lives, have wondered about the wealthiest, most-richest people in the world. These personalities have always been a topic of interest and fascination for many. These affluent individuals mainly come from a range of industries such as the Business world, technology, fashion, entertainment, finance and investment and other such industries. Forbes, an American business magazine and a global media company publishes annual lists of these multi-millionaires in different categories around the world. Today, we will talk about the women who made to this list and get to know about the richest women in the world and India.
According to the recently published “The World’s Richest Women Billionaires 2023” list, “Françoise Bettencourt Meyers” holds her spot for the world’s richest woman; and on the national level “Savitri Jindal” remains the richest woman in India.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers: The first woman ever to be valued at $100 billion
The seventy-year-old billionaire is of French origin and resides in Paris, France. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers comes from the cosmetics industry and is valued at $100.1 Billion as of December 2023. She was the heir and the granddaughter of the founder of L’Oreal Group, Eugène Schueller. The company started in 1909 when Eugène Schueller, a young French chemist, created Oréale, a hair dye formula and decided to sell it. In the beginning, only three chemists were employed in the company and now has over 85000 employees.
She received the inheritance in 2017 when her mother and the world’s richest woman at that time, Liliane Bettencourt, passed away. She has now held the title of the richest woman on earth for three years in a row. She gained nearly five billion dollars from last year (2022). She is the wealthiest woman in the world and the 11th richest person on the planet. She has served the family-held company since 1997 and is now the chairwoman of the company. She and her family are the biggest shareholders and hold a thirty-three per cent stake in the cosmetic giant L’Oréal. Meyers has two sons Jean-Victor Meyers and Nicolas Meyers, who are both on the team of directors. The company has been run and managed by the executive board for a long time now.
Francoise Meyers is not only a well-established businesswoman, but she is also a philanthropist and a writer. She was raised as a strict catholic, and as a result, she wrote several biblical commentaries and books on Greek gods. In April 2019, after a fire at the Notre-Dame de Paris, a medieval cathedral, was severely destroyed Bettencourt Meyers and L’Oréal pledged $226 million to repair the cathedral. The Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, a family-owned charity is also looked over by her as the president. The foundation aims to better French society and its influence on the international stage in the fields of life sciences and arts. It acknowledges and promotes talent throughout France.
Along with Loreal, she also owns an investment firm, Téthys Invest, where she supports projects like French private hospital operator Elsan. She recently hired a managing director for this investment firm.
Recently, Netflix came out with a three-part documentary, L’Affaire Bettencourt, based on the family feud between Francoise and her elderly mother, Liliane Bettencourt, with whom she had a volatile relationship. The story is based on a legal scandal that was based on whether the mother was suitable to manage the family’s wealth or not.
Savitri Devi Jindal: Only woman billionaire in India’s top 10 richest people
Born in Assam, a simple looking woman named Savitri Devi is the chairperson of the emeritus of OP Jindal Group and the president of Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha. She inherited the Jindal empire in 2005 after her husband O.P. Jindal died in a helicopter crash. She is the 5th richest person in the country and the most wealthy woman in the country. As of December 2023, Mrs Jindal has a net worth of $25.3 billion. The wealth of Savitri Devi had the highest growth rate in the country, with an increase of $9.6 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
She married OP Jindal, the founder of the steel and power conglomerate company in the 1970s. The Jindal Group started as a single-unit steel plant in Hissar, Haryana in 1952. After she joined the company, it soared to new heights and the revenues quadrupled under her leadership. Savitri Devi is a mother to nine children. The company is now split into four divisions and each of the four units is independently managed and run by four sons, Prithviraj, Naveen, Ratan and Sajjan Jindal.
She also contributes to the well-being of society by using her wealth to contribute to society through the public work her husband started. She was granted Acharya Tulsi Kartritva Puraskar by Akhil Bhartiya Terapanth Mahila Mandal in 2008. She is a benefactor in sectors like health care, education and the environment too. Savitri Devi Jindal, besides managing her business and being a philanthropist, also has a name in politics. She is associated with the Indian National Congress party. She won a seat in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha from the Hissar constituency in 2005 and was re-elected in 2009. She was appointed as a cabinet minister in 2013. Previously, she has served as the Minister of State for Revenue and Disaster Management, Consolidation, Rehabilitation and Housing and also the Minister of State for Urban Local Bodies and Housing.
In conclusion, these women prove to be an inspiration for all of us, their story is not only celebrated for their commendable success in their fields but also because of the continued efforts that fill the gender gap and strive towards equality and empowerment of women.
