Who Owns L’Oréal: The Largest Shareholders Overview
L’Oréal S.A. (PA: OR) is the largest cosmetics company in the world and makes money mainly by selling skincare, make-up, and haircare products. Let’s now look at who owns L’Oréal and who controls it.
L’Oréal’s largest shareholders are mainly the Bettencourt Meyers family, descendants of the company founder, which owns 34.7% of the company, and Nestlé, a Swiss-based company selling processed food & drinks, with a 20.1% ownership share.
 L'Oréal's Largest Shareholders (Dec 2022)
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| Shareholder | Ownership | Voting Power | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Téthys | 28.5% | 28.5% |
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Nestlé | 20.1% | 20.1% |
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Françoise Bettencourt Meyers | 6.2% | 6.2% |
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Other | 45.2% | 45.2% |
| Listed are shareholders holding >5% of any share class or notable in other ways | |||
 Source: Annual Report |
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In this article, I will dive more into who owns L’Oréal and who controls it. I will show you who L’Oréal’s largest shareholders are, how many shares and votes they have, and how much their stake is worth.
If you are interested, you can also explore who owns other companies like Tesla, Nike, Ferrari, Coca-cola, or Apple.
📃 Who Owns L’Oréal?
L’Oréal is owned mainly by the Bettencourt Meyers family, descendants of the company founder, which own 34.7% of the company, and a Swiss-based company selling processed food & drinks, Nestlé, with 20.1% ownership share. Together, they own the majority of the company.
Bettencourt Meyers family is the largest owner of L’Oréal with a 35% ownership stake. The family is represented mainly by Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, granddaughter of the company founder Eugène Schueller.
- Other members of the Bettencourt Meyers family include Françoise’s husband, Jean-Pierre Meyers, and their sons Jean-Victor Meyers and Nicolas Meyers.
- Most of the family stake is owned through their holding company Téthys (28.5%), and another 6.2% is owned directly by Françoise Bettencourt Meyers.
- All members of the family hold stakes in the company directly, but except Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, who owns 6% directly, other family stakes are mostly symbolic.
- Although the stake owned by Téthys is very often counted as ownership of Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, it is quite probable that ownership is also shared with her two sons.
- Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is currently in control of Téthys as chairwoman. CEO of the company is her husband, Jean-Pierre Meyers.
The second-largest L’Oréal owner is Nestlé, a Swiss-based company selling processed food & drinks, which owns a 20.1% stake.
- Nestlé owned a stake in L’Oréal since 1974 when Liliane Bettencourt, the daughter of the founder of L’Oréal and at the time controlling shareholder, exchanged nearly half of her shares in L’Oréal for shares in Nestlé S.A.
- The motivation for the move was that Liliane was afraid that the company would be nationalized after the French elections if Socialists came to power.
- Under their pact, Nestle and Bettencourt promised not to sell their stakes without first offering them to one another.
Originally Nestlé and the Bettencourt Meyers family had a similar stake in the company, but in 2014, Nestlé started to decrease its ownership.
- In 2014 L’Oreál purchased an 8% stake of its own shares from Nestlé.
- Another buyback of a 4% stake happened in 2021
- Nestlé might continue to decrease its stake in the future. There seems to be little overlap between L’Oreál and Nestlé. They set up joint ventures Laboratoires INNEOV in 2002, but that was dissolved in 2014
L’Oréal was founded in 1909 by Eugene Shueller, and has been a publicly listed company since its initial public offering on the Paris stock exchange in 1963 (Ticker: PA: OR).
- Despite being publicly traded since 1963, the majority ownership was kept in the family’s hands, at least until the share swap with Nestlé.
- Company shares can also be held through unsponsored ADRs traded on US OTC markets.
- LRLCY is a ticker for ADR linked to L’Oreal shares in a way that five(5) ADRs represent one original share.
- LRLCF is a ticker for ADR linked to L’Oreal shares. One ADR represents one original share.
- An interesting fact is that, as is usual with french S.A. companies, L’Oréal company has an official duration of 99 years, which means that the company shall expire in 2061. Of course, this term can be extended. :-)
L’Oréal S.A. is incorporated in Paris, France, and its headquarters are in Clichy, France.
🎮 Who Controls L’Oréal (PA: OR)?
L’Oréal’s shareholders with the largest voting power are the Bettencourt Meyers family, which holds 34.7% of all votes, followed by Nestlé with 20.1% voting power. Together, they control L’Oréal with 55% of all votes.
L’Oréal has only one class of outstanding shares, with one vote per share. Therefore, there is no difference between the shareholder’s ownership and voting power.
- Company does not apply the double voting provisions of French laws that give long-term shareholders more than one vote.
L’Oréal’s shareholder with the largest voting power is The Bettencourt Meyers family, which controls 35% of all votes. Control of the Bettencourt Meyers family is mainly in the hands of Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. She holds 6% in L’Oréal directly and also is a chairwoman of the family holding company Téthys, which holds the remaining part of her family stake.
- However, as part of an agreement of the Bettencourt Meyers family with the French Financial Markets Authority, the family cannot exercise voting rights in excess of 33.33% until after the 2025 annual general meeting. In exchange, French Financial Markets Authority granted the Bettencourt Meyers family waiver from the obligation to file a draft public offer of L’Oreál shares after crossing the 33.33% ownership threshold.
- It is important to note that the Bettencourt Meyers family owned over half of L’Oréal until 1974, when Liliane Bettencourt, mother of Françoise, exchanged nearly half of her stake for a stake in Nestlé. The reason for this transaction was Liliane’s fear that L’Oreal would be nationalized if Socialists came to power in upcoming french elections.
- L’Oréal and Nestlé had a shareholder agreement that if one of them decides to sell, they have to offer it to each other first. They also acted in concert. Last shareholder agreement they had expired in 2018.
L’Oréal’s shareholder with the second-largest voting power is Nestlé, a Swiss-based company selling processed food & drinks, holding 20.1% of all votes.
L’Oréal is controlled by its two largest shareholders, the Bettencourt Meyers family and Nestlé. Before Nestlé became a shareholder in 1974, the company was controlled by the Bettencourt Meyers family. After that, the control was still kind of in the family’s hands because the controlling stake in L’Oreal was owned through the holding company Gesparal where the family held 51% of the shares and Nestlé remaining 49%.
- This Gesparal-based holding structure was eliminated in 2004 when Gesparal merged with L’Oréal, and Gesparal shareholders became direct shareholders of L’Oreal with roughly equal stakes. The company also eliminated double votes, giving all shareholders the same proportional voting power.
- In 2014 L’Oreal bought back an 8% stake from Nestlé and another 4% stake in 2021. This decreased Nestlé’s stake, and because the number of outstanding shares decreased, it increased the stake of the Bettencourt Meyers family.
- Currently, the family stake is 35%, and they have an exception from French authorities because otherwise, they would have to make an offer to buy shares from other shareholders since they hold over one-third of the company. The caveat of avoiding the mandatory offer is that the family cannot exercise voting power over 33.33%.
L’Oréal’s insiders that have influence over the company are CEO Nicolas Hieronimus, chairman of the board Jean-Paul Agon, and other board members and executives.
- L’Oréal’s board has a 16-member board with the following composition.
- 7 seats are held by independent directors
- 3 seats are held by the Bettencourt Meyers family, the largest shareholder (Ms Betterncourt and her sons Jean-Victor and Nicolas)
- 2 seats are held by Nestlé
- 2 seats are held by employees and union representatives
- 1 seat is held by the chairman (ex-CEO)
- 1 seat is held by the CEO
- Each director’s term is usually four (4) years. Therefore each year, roughly 25% of the board is up for reelection. This protects current shareholders against hostile takeovers because this would significantly slow the new owner down.
- The only other shareholder except for vice-chairwoman Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, whose stake is above 0.05%, is L’Oreal’s chairman Jean-Paul Agon. He was also the company CEO for some time and currently holds 0.24% of L’Oréal shares. CEO Nicolas Hieronimus owns 0.04% stake. Other board members’ stakes are just symbolic.
L’Oréal’s articles of association also require that any shareholder with a 1% share or higher has to inform the company about the total number of shares. Otherwise, the amount over the threshold will not have any voting rights.
🗳️ Breakdown of L’Oréal’s Outstanding Shares and Votes by Top Shareholders
L’Oréal S.A. had a total of 535 million outstanding shares as of December 2022. The following table shows how many shares each L’Oréal’s large shareholder holds.
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L'Oréal's Outstanding Shares by Shareholder
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| In millions of shares as of December 2022 | ||||
| Shareholder | Class A | Total | % Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Téthys | 153 | 153 | 28.5% |
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Nestlé | 108 | 108 | 20.1% |
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Françoise Bettencourt Meyers | 33 | 33 | 6.2% |
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Other | 242 | 242 | 45.2% |
| Total (# millions) | 535 | 535 | 100.0% | |
| Listed are shareholders holding >5% of any share class or notable in other ways | ||||
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Source: Annual Report |
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There were 535 million votes distributed among shareholders of L’Oréal S.A.. The table below shows the total number of votes for each large shareholder.
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L'Oréal's Vote Control by Shareholder
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| In millions of votes as of December 2022 | ||||
| Shareholder | Class A | Total | % Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Téthys | 153 | 153 | 28.5% |
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Nestlé | 108 | 108 | 20.1% |
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Françoise Bettencourt Meyers | 33 | 33 | 6.2% |
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Other | 242 | 242 | 45.2% |
| Total (# millions) | 535 | 535 | 100.0% | |
| Listed are shareholders holding >5% of any share class or notable in other ways | ||||
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Source: Annual Report |
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💵 Breakdown of L’Oréal’s Market Value by Shareholder
The following table summarizes how much is each shareholder’s stake in L’Oréal S.A. worth.
However, keep in mind that a stake in L’Oréal could be just one part of their portfolio, and their total worth could be bigger, thanks to other investments. It could also be lower if they have debts.
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L'Oréal's Market Value by Shareholder
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| Market value in billions $ as of December 2022 | ||||
| Shareholder | Class A | Total | % Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Téthys | $54.2 | $54.2 | 28.5% |
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Nestlé | $38.3 | $38.3 | 20.1% |
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Françoise Bettencourt Meyers | $11.8 | $11.8 | 6.2% |
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Other | $86.0 | $86.0 | 45.2% |
| Total ($ billions) | $190.3 | $190.3 | 100.0% | |
| Listed are shareholders holding >5% of any share class or notable in other ways | ||||
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Source: Annual Report |
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Let’s now look at each L’Oréal shareholder individually.
📒 Who Are L’Oréal’s Largest Shareholders?
Let’s now go through the list of the largest shareholders of L’Oréal S.A. one by one and look at who they are, how many shares they own, what is their voting power, and how much is their stake in L’Oréal worth.
#1 Téthys (28.5%)
Téthys is the largest shareholder of L’Oréal, owning 28.5% of its shares. As of December 2022, the market value of Téthys’s stake in L’Oréal was $54.2 billion.
Téthys owned 153 million shares in L’Oréal and controlled 153 million shareholder votes as of December 2022.
Téthys SAS is a holding company owned and controlled by the Bettencourt Meyers family. Most of the family stake in L’Oreal is owned through this holding company, although Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the head of the family, owns a sizable stake also directly.
The Chairwoman of Téthys board is Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, and her husband Jean-Pierre Meyers is Téthys’ CEO
#2 Nestlé (20.1%)
Nestlé is the second-largest shareholder of L’Oréal, owning 20.1% of its shares. As of December 2022, the market value of Nestlé’s stake in L’Oréal was $38.3 billion.
Nestlé owned 108 million shares in L’Oréal and controlled 108 million shareholder votes as of December 2022.
Nestlé S.A. is a Swiss-based company producing and selling various food and drink products. Nestlé’s products include, for example, baby food (Gerber, NaturNes), bottled water (Perrier, S.Pellegrino, Vittel), cereals, coffee (Nespresso, Nescafé), pet food (Purina) and many others.
#3 Françoise Bettencourt Meyers (6.2%)
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is the third-largest shareholder of L’Oréal, owning 6.2% of its shares. As of December 2022, the market value of Françoise Bettencourt Meyers’s stake in L’Oréal was $11.8 billion.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers owned 33 million shares in L’Oréal and controlled 33 million shareholder votes as of December 2022.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is the grandoughter of Eugène Schueller, the founder of L’Oreál. She is currently the head of the family that still owns a significant stake in the company, and she serves on L’Oreal’s board of directors together with her two sons Jean-Victor and Nicolas.
She is considered to be the richest woman in the world . She probably is, but she does now own all of the wealth she is in control of since some of it belongs to her sons.
She is married to Jean-Pierre Meyers, who also used to serve on L’Oreal’s board of directors.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers inherited her wealth from her mother, Liliane Bettencourt, with who she had a quite strained relationship, especially after, in 2007, she went to court to declare that her mother was not mentally fit to run her own affairs. On top of that, several other people around her mother were charged for taking financial advantage of her.
In 2011, the court decided that control of Liliane Bettencourt’s finances would be handed over to Francoise. Court had declared that Liliane Bettencourt was not mentally fit to run her own affairs after a medical report found she suffered from “modestly severe” Alzheimer’s and “mixed dementia.”
❔ What is Nestlé’s Relationship with L’Oréal? Why Nestlé Owns L’Oreal?
One of the large L’Oréal shareholders is Nestlé, a company producing and selling various food and drink products that don’t seem to have much in common with L’Oreál. Why is that?
Nestlé’s stake in L’Oreál is a result of the 1974 decision by Liliane Bettencourt, the controlling shareholder at the time, to exchange nearly half of their family controlling stake for a stake in Nestlé. She was afraid that in the upcoming French election, if Socialists won, L’Oréal would be nationalized.
The deal was structured in a way that the original family stake was owned by the holding company Gesparal. Nestlé owned 49% of this holding company, and the family owned the remaining 51%. This way family still had control over L’Oreál.
Also, both parties agreed that if they wanted to sell their stake, they needed to offer it first to each other.
After three decades, in 2004, this setup was adjusted, and by agreement between the Bettencourt family and Nestlé, L’Oréal eliminated double voting rights and merged with Gesparal holding company, where Bettencourts and Nestlé were shareholders.
This merger resulted in a shareholder structure where both the Bettencourt family and Nestlé were direct shareholders of L’Orél, still holding together a controlling stake in the company.
- After this transaction, the Bettencourt family held a 27.5% stake, and Nestlé had a 26.4% stake in L’Oréal. Together they controlled L’Oreál with a 54% stake.
Another important stage in Nestlé and L’Oréal’s relationship started in 2014 when L’Oréal bought back an 8% stake of its own shares from Nestlé and canceled the out. This boosted the stake of the Bettencourt family. Another buyback happened in 2014 (4% stake).
It seems Nestlé is on its way out from L’Oréal. The issue with further share reduction is that the Bettencourt Meyers family will have to carefully navigate their steps because breaching another ownership threshold would mean another mandatory offer to other shareholders to buy back their shares.
- For this, the family will need to arrange a way to finance it. Another option might be negotiating another exception from French authorities, who might be willing to promote French ownership.
You probably noticed that I did not mention what happened with the stake of the Bettencourt Meyers family in Nestlé. We know the family has owned a stake in Nestlé since 1974, and some family members were in the past board directors in Nestlé. Unfortunately, I currently don’t know anything more about their stake. Nestlé is a Swiss company listed in Switzerland, and their rules about the transparency of beneficial ownership transparency do not require public disclosures in most cases.
🧱 Who and When Founded L’Oréal?
L’Oreal was founded in 1909 by Eugène Schueller. The company started with the production of hair dyes and later expanded to other cosmetic products. Schueller died in 1957, and his daughter Liliane became his heir and controlling shareholder of L’Oréal.
Currently, Nestlé is controlled by Shueller’s granddaughter Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, who has been in control of her family stake in Nestlé since 2011 when the court declared that her mother is not mentally fit to run her affairs. Her mother died in 2017.
There are claims that company founder Schueller sympathized with La Cagoule, an anti-Semitic, anti-Communist, and anti-Republican far-right group. After WWII, he was charged with collaborating with Nazis, but those charges were later dropped.
📅 Timeline of Important Events in L’Oréal’s History
These are selected relevant events from L’Oréal’s history:
- 1909: The company was founded by Eugene Shueller as “Société Française de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux,” later renamed to L’Oréal.
- 1922: Schueller daughter Liliane was born
- 1950: Liliane married Andre Bettencourt, who was at the time deputy chairman of L’Oréal
- 1953: Liliane gave birth to Françoise, her only daughter
- 1957: Shueller died, and Liliane, as a 35-year-old, inherited full control of the L’Oréal business empire.
- 1963: L’Oréal went public, but Liliane Bettencourt continued to control the company through her majority stake.
- 1974: Liliane exchanged nearly half of her stake in L’Oreal with Nestlé for a stake in Nestlé, driven by fear that the company would be nationalized after the French elections if Socialists came to power.
- 1984: Jean_Pierrre Meyers marries Françoise Bettencourt
- 1987: Jean-Pierre Meyers joins the L’Oréal board of directors
- 1997: Françoise joins the L’Oréal board of directors.
- 2004: The agreement between the Bettencourt family and Nestlé eliminated double voting rights and merged Gesparal holding company, where Bettencourts and Nestlé were shareholders, with L’Oreal.
- This kept majority control with Bettencourts and Nestlé, although this time, their stake was 54% compared to over 72% before the double voting right cancelation.
- After this transaction, the Bettencourt family owned a 27.5% stake, and Nestlé owned a 26.4% stake in L’Oréal.
- They also agreed that none of them could increase their stake in L’Oréal during the lifetime of Mrs. Liliane Bettencourt and six months after that.
- 2007: Liliane Bettencourt’s daughter Françoise went to court over concerns that people around her mother were taking financial advantage of her. In particular François-Marie Banier, a photographer friend on whom Liliane Bettencourt showered gifts worth around €1bn.
- 2011: Control of Liliane Bettencourt’s finances was handed over to Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. The court had declared that Liliane Bettencourt was not mentally fit to run her own affairs after a medical report found she suffered from “modestly severe” Alzheimer’s and “mixed dementia.”
- 2012: Liliane Bettencourt left L’Oréal’s board of directors.
- 2012: Liliane lost the appeal to revert the court decision that handed control of their finances to her daughter Françoise.
- 2014: L’Oreal bought back an 8% stake of its own shares from Nestlé.
- 2017: Liliane Bettencourt dies at the age of 94
- 2021: L’Oreal bought back a 4% stake of its shares from Nestlé, pushing Bettencourt family ownership over one-third.
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