The daughter of Walmart's founder Sam Walton has reclaimed the title of ‘world’s richest woman’ after dethroning L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers.
Alice Walton’s fortune increased by 38% to US$95bn over the past year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
This has been driven by a 44% surge in Walmart shares in 2024, with the US grocer reporting a 4.7% increase in revenues to $169bn in its recent Q2 2025 results.
The $26bn jump in worth has placed Walton closer to surpassing the $100bn mark.
This would see the inheritor of the Walmart fortune joining the likes of Elon Musk and Bill Gates in the ‘centibillionaires’ club.
Bettencourt Meyers’ wealth, meanwhile, sank by 9.2% to $91bn as L’Oréal grappled with a 12% share decline since the start of the year.
The dip was partly the result of France’s hard-left win in July when L'Oréal stocks fell to the lowest price in the past six months following the election results.
This followed a 10% drop in share price when President Emmanuel Macron announced a snap parliamentary election in June.
The French beauty giant has also been dealing with ongoing challenges in the Chinese beauty market.
Although L'Oréal’s half-year 2024 sales topped €22bn, it was impacted by “lasting” low consumer confidence in the country’s mainland and poor travel retail sales.
The two heiresses' current financial positions stand in stark contrast compared with the end of 2023 when Bettencourt Meyers was worth $100bn and Walton’s fortune stood at $70bn.
Alice Walton had previously held the title of ‘world’s richest woman’ for several years but was surpassed by Bettencourt Meyers in 2020.
L’Oréal, which owns Maybelline, Lancôme and Giorgio Armani Beauty, was created by Eugène Schueller in 1909.
Sam Walton founded Walmart in 1962, with the business now worth $621.2bn.
The hypermart chain has also been branching further into beauty after launching its own women's personal care brand Jukebox in August.
Handmade soaps and aluminium-free deodorants are available in the beauty collection.
