Heiress to L’Oreal, the largest cosmetic and Beauty Company in the world, Liliane Bettencourt stands the second richest woman in the world in 2011, according to Forbes. The octogenarian is estimated to be worth $23.5 billion.

The only child of Eugene Schueller, the founder of L’Oreal, Liliane lost her mother in 1927, at the age of 5, and inherited her father’s empire upon his death in 1957. By then, she had married Andre Bettencourt, then a French politician with pro-Nazi views and deputy chairman of L’Oreal. They lived in a mansion on Rue de Delabordère in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Liliane and Andre remained married until Andre’s death in November 2007. They have one daughter, Francoise Bettencourt and two grandsons: Jean-Victor and Nicolas.

While Liliane worked in her father’s company as an apprentice at 15, little is said or known about her involvement in the business or her professional life thereafter. She is currently a non-executive director of the company as well as the majority stakeholder.

Liliane Bettencourt, in 1987, launched the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation to ‘support and develop medical, cultural and humanitarian projects.’ The foundation sponsors cash prizes to deserving individuals from France and developing countries.

Little was known about Liliane Bettencourt’s personal life too. A reticent and evasive, elite socialite, she has rarely given interviews or made public appearances. Newspapers and magazines often refer to her lifestyle motto as ‘Never explain, never complain.’

As of 2010, Liliane Bettencourt has been in the centre of a legal trial, media frenzy and much speculation, following a law suit filed by her daughter against Frenchman Francois-Marie Banier, a friend of Liliane. The lawsuit is on the grounds of abus de faiblesse (the exploitation of a physical or psychological weakness for personal gain) of Liliane Bettencourt by Francois-Marie Banier. It is alleged that Banier compelled Liliane, over the course of their friendship, to give out gifts worth $1.5 billion, as well as make him the sole heir of her fortune, sans her stake in L’Oreal. This now being treated as fraud by her daughter and the lawsuit has left Liliane and her daughter on non-speaking terms. The entire affair, spanning 3 years has come to be known as the ‘Bettencourt Affair’.

In the same year, Liliane Bettencourt and French president Nicolas Sarkozy were the subjects of legal inquiry and a political scandal. The scandal was created after Bettencourt’s accountant, Claire Thilbout, alleged that Liliane had given Sarkozy envelopes stuffed with 150,000 pounds as donation for his presidential campaign in 2007. She also added that Bettencourt had continuously provided such cash envelopes to Sarkozy in the period of 1983 to 2007. The entire episode is being investigated as we speak.

Much of Liliane Bettencourt’s private life has remained private, with the exception of these two lawsuits. She is however, a well-known member of French elite. Liliane Bettencourt currently lives out of her two homes: her mansion in Neuilly-sur-Seine and another property on the Brittany coast as well as an island in the Seychelles.