Forbes’ 2026 Billionaires List has uncovered the richest business owners in the beauty industry.
From leaders at LVMH and Estée Lauder Companies to celebrity brand founders, 29 of the list’s 3,428 entrepreneurs, investors and heirs have links to the beauty and wellness industry.
At the top end, and ranking seventh overall is Bernard Arnault and family, the French entrepreneur and chairman and CEO of LVMH, worth $171bn.
Ranking 20th overall is Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, beauty’s richest woman.
Worth $100bn, the French entrepreneur and philanthropist is the granddaughter of the founder of L’Oréal, Eugène Schueller.
Brothers Alan and Gerard Wertheimer both rank 49th on the list, with the Chanel co-owners’ estimated worth at $34.9bn each.
François Pinault, honorary chairman and co-founder of Kering, and his family place 81st on Forbes’ list, with a net worth of $29.5bn.
L Brands founder Les Wexner and family – the man behind a global retail empire including Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works – ranks at 402 with a net worth of $8.8bn.
Grupo Boticario’s founder, Bolivian-born Miguel Krigsner, places 595 with a $6.8bn fortune.
At 664 is Stefano Pessina, executive chairman of drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance, worth $6.3bn.
Estée Lauder’s youngest son, Ronald Lauder, is the sole heir to The Estée Lauder Companies’ fortune and landed in 869th place with a wealth of $4.9bn.
Nykaa CEO and founder Falguni Nayar is one of two self-made female Indian billionaires, having founded the beauty and lifestyle retailer in 2012 at age 50 after leaving a career as an investment banker.
Nayar ranks 972 on Forbes’ list with a fortune of $4.4bn.
Ranking at 1044 is Todd Christopher – the founder of hair care company Vogue International, the Kenvue subsidiary which owns hair brands OGX and Maui Moisture.
The high school dropout sold the company to Johnson & Johnson for $3.3bn in 2016, with Christopher worth $4.1bn.
Reinold Geiger, chairman and executive director of L’Occitane en Provence, ranked 1074 with a fortune of $4bn.
John Paul DeJoria, who has both founded tequila maker Patron Spirits Co. and co-founded hair care company John Paul Mitchell Systems, ranks at 1406 with $3bn.
A number of beauty founders shared the 1611 position with a fortune of $2.6bn each:
Daniel Rocher, the son of Yves Rocher, who founded French cosmetics giant Groupe Rocher in 1959 and Bris Rocher, grandson of Yves Rocher, who stepped into the role of CEO for the French cosmetics giant at the age of 31 after the death of his grandfather, both sit in this position with an individual fortune of $2.6bn each
Lyu Yixiong, CEO of Chinese cosmetics supplier Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic, also ranked 1611, as does Byunghoon Kimm, co-founder and CEO of South Korean beauty-device maker APR.
Jane Lauder, granddaughter of cosmetics legend Estée Lauder and former executive vice president and chief data officer at her family's company, is also worth $2.6bn.
Ranking 1755 with a worth of $2.4bn is Sylvia Stroeher, who, in 2003, netted $1bn upon her family’s sale of 80% of hair-care group Wella AG to conglomerate Procter & Gamble.
Manuel Puig Rocha is also worth $2.4bn.
Rocha is the largest individual shareholder of Charlotte Tilbury, Byredo and Penhaligon’s owner Puig Brands.
Mao Geping and family ranked at 1834 on the list.
Worth $2.3bn, Geping is the Chairman of his eponymous company, Mao Geping Cosmetics, based in Hangzhou, China.
Celebrity and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian ranks at 2177 with a wealth of $1.9bn, thanks to the success of her shapewear and lifestyle brand Skims, set to enter beauty this year, alongside other ventures.
William Lauder, grandson of Estée Lauder, and eldest son of Leonard Lauder, places 2274 with a wealth of $1.8bn
Aerin Lauder, the eldest daughter of billionaire Ronald Lauder, also has a wealth of $1.8bn.
She currently serves as style and image director for Estée Lauder.
Amorepacific chairman Suh Kyung-bae makes position 2481 on the list with a worth of $1.6bn.
The company, which owns Laneige and Corsx, is South Korea's largest cosmetic and skincare maker by revenue.
Sun Huaqing, chair of cosmetics and skin care supplier Guangdong Marubi Biotechnology and family, places 2712 with a worth of $1.4bn.
At 3185 is Tatiana Volodina, whose $1.1bn fortune stems from perfume and cosmetics retail chain L'Etoile, which boasts 1,000 locations in 250 cities across Russia.
Nautra & Co founder Antonio Luiz Seabra, who launched the company in 1969, sits in the 3185th position with a wealth of $1.1bn.
Finally, although her musical career carried her rise to fame, it is thanks to Fenty Beauty’s success that singer and entrepreneur Rihanna ranks at 3332, with a worth of $1bn.
Lead image credits: Bernard Arnualt: Jérémy Barande / Ecole polytechnique Université Paris-Saclay. François Pinault: Photo by S. Plaine / CC-BY-SA-4.0
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