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L’Oreal Heiress Francoise Meyers Becomes World’s Richest Woman After Surpassing Walmart Scion Alice Walton

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L’Oreal Heiress Francoise Meyers Becomes World’s Richest Woman After Surpassing Walmart Scion Alice Walton

Topline

Walmart scion Alice Walton’s short-lived term as the world’s richest woman came to an end Thursday after Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the granddaughter of the founder of L’Oreal, secured the title amid a spike in European luxury stocks that reacted positively to an economic stimulus package committed to by China this week.

Key Facts

Meyers, who Walton overtook as the world’s richest woman earlier this month, reclaimed the title Thursday, when her estimated net worth grew to $93.1 billion while Walton’s dropped to $90.4 billion.

Meyers’ $5.5 billion pop in net worth followed a big day for L’Oreal shares, which closed up nearly 7% on Thursday around $408.65, a price they have not recorded since July.

Walton’s $1.3 billion drop in estimated net worth Thursday coincided with a poor day of trading for Walmart’s stock, which closed down nearly 2% at $79.92.

The rally from L’Oreal, which has its second-largest market in China, came amid a surge in China-exposed European luxury stocks after the country indicated it would roll out a multi-hundred-billion-dollar economic stimulus package.

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Tangent

Cartier-owner Richemont shares traded up more than 8% while LVMH shares rocketed 10% to $678.50 on Thursday, recovering from a September slump that sent the stock as low as $591.90 per share. LVMH chief Bernard Arnault’s estimated net worth spiked a whopping 9.4% to $192.7 billion, bringing his net worth closer to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg ($196.1 billion), who is directly ahead of Arnault in Forbes’ billionaire rankings as the fourth-wealthiest person in the world.

Big Number

34.7%. That is the share of L’Oreal stock owned by Meyers and her family as of December 2023, according to the company.

Key Background

Walton began her brief run as the world’s richest woman about three weeks ago, when she was ranked as the 18th-richest person in the world. Walmart stock is up more than 50% this year, while L’Oreal shares have slid about 9% in the same period. The stimulus package that contributed to L’Oreal’s strong day of trading and Meyers’ rise in net worth includes a potential $142 billion injection for state banks that aims to help China’s struggling real estate industry and cash-strapped local governments.

Further Reading

Chinese Stocks Book $70 Billion US Rally As Beijing Brandishes ‘Big Guns’ Stimulus (Forbes)

Alice Walton Just Became The World’s Wealthiest Woman (Forbes)

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