Alice Walton, daughter of retail icon Sam Walton, is now worth more than $95 billion for the first time, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as Walmart Inc. shares surge 44% this year to a record high, adding $25 billion to her net worth this year.
By contrast, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, granddaughter of L'Oreal founder Eugène Schueller, has seen her fortune fall by $10 billion this year to $90 billion, reflecting a 13% drop in L'Oreal shares since January.
The situation was different at the end of last year, when Bettencourt Myers was worth $100 billion and Walton was worth just $70 billion.
Bettencourt Meyers is No. 19 on Bloomberg's list of the richest people in the world, while Walton is No. 18, behind his two brothers, Jim ($98 billion) and Rob ($95.8 billion). Assuming their father divided his stock equally among his four children, each brother would own more than 11% of Walmart. Bloomberg also estimates that the brothers have made more than $15 billion together over the years from stock sales and dividends.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, 2010. MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images
Bettencourt Meyers, meanwhile, owns about 35% of the world's largest cosmetics company, which owns brands such as Garnier and Maybelline, and inherited the stake from her mother, Liliane, who died in 2017.
If Walton's fortune continues to grow and crosses the $100 billion mark, she will join an elite club of people worth over $100 billion, including Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett.
Walton and Bettencourt Myers are two of several heirs to the top of Bloomberg's list, including Jacqueline Badger Mars and Abigail Johnson, whose grandfathers founded Mars Inc. and Fidelity Inc., respectively.
