worlds richest woman disowns....

World’s richest woman disowns daughter over row
Agencies
Monday, December 22, 2008 22:26 IST
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PARIS: Liliane Bettencourt, the world’s richest woman, announced on Sunday she would never see her daughter again as a family dispute over allegations that she had been abused by a photographer friend reached new depths. Her comments were the latest chapter in a saga that has split one of France’s wealthiest dynasties amid accusations of manipulation, jealousy and greed. They came after Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers filed a lawsuit which claimed that her 86-year-old mother — the heiress to L’Oréal, the cosmetics giant — had been exploited while in frail health.

An initial investigation has found that Bettencourt gave $993mn in cheques, property, artworks and life insurance contracts to François-Marie Banier, a 61-year-old society photographer. Bettencourt-Meyers, 55, took court action because she feared that her mother’s fortune, estimated at $23bn, could be frittered away following the death of André Bettencourt, her father, last year.

Bettencourt dismissed her daughter’s claim. “I have known François-Marie Banier for 20 years, my husband knew him for 20 years. What’s got into my daughter? Perhaps it’s because I get on well with François-Marie Banier. Jealousy could play a part in this. I don’t see my daughter any more and I don’t want to see her.”

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