Was the world's wealthiest woman-Liliane Bettencourt-heir to an estimated thirty-six-billion-dollar L'OrUal fortune, the victim of a con man? Or were her own family the real villains? This riveting narrative tells the real-life, shocking story behind the cause cUlobre that has captivated both France and the world. a Liliane Bettencourt is the world's richest woman and the eleventh wealthiest person on the planet, as of 2016. But at ninety-four, she's embroiled in an incredible controversy that has dominated the headlines and ensnared a former president of France in the controversy. Why? Thanks to an artist and photographer named Franpois-Marie Banier, who was given hundreds of millions of dollars by Liliane. Liliane's daughter, Franpoise, considers Banier a con man and filed a lawsuit against him, but Banier has a far different story to tell. It's all become Europe's biggest scandal in years, uncovering a shadowy corporate history, buried World War II secrets, illicit political payoffs, and much more. a Written by Tom Sancton, aaVanity Fairacontributor and formeraTimeacorrespondent currently living in France,aThe Bettencourt Affairais part courtroom drama; part upstairs-downstairs tale; part business narrative of a glamorous global company with past Nazi connections; and part character-driven story of a complex, fascinating family and the intruder who nearly tore it apart.
