The Bettencourt Affair: The World`s Richest Woman and the Scandal That Rocked Paris, Sancton Tom

At the time of her death at age ninety-four, in September 2017, Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the LOral fortune, was the worlds richest woman and the fourteenth wealthiest person. But her gilded life took a dark yet fascinating turn in the past decade, when she became embroiled in a scandal that dominated the headlines in France.

The Bettencourt Affair, as it came to be called, started as a family drama but quickly became a massive scandal, uncovering LOrals shadowy corporate history and buried World War II secrets. It all began when Liliane met Franois-Marie Banier, an artist and photographer who was, in his youth, the toast of Paris and a protg of Salvador Dal-. Over the next two decades, Banier was given hundreds of millions of dollars in gifts, cash, and insurance policies by Liliane. What, exactly, was their relationship? It wasnt clear, least of all to Lilianes daughter and only child, Franoise, who became suspicious of Baniers motives and filed a lawsuit against him. But Banier has a far different story to tell. . . .