Net worth: $24 billion
Wealth source: L’Oreal
Overall Forbes rank: #15
Ms. Bettencourt is the only daughter of L’Oreal founder Eugène Schueller. She’s the richest woman in Europe and the second-wealthiest citizen of France. In 2011, following a three-year legal battle, her fortune was placed under the legal guardianship of her daughter, Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers. Bettencourt lives in Paris.