Fortune is an opportunity.
When one has received a lot, one must love giving - simply,
without ulterior motives, without calculation,
without waiting for a 'return on investment'.
And thus to give back freely to society a part of what one has received.
Behold Liliane Bettencourt, octogenarian and holder of a 27.5% stake in L'Oreal (interestingly, Nestle holds 26.4% of L'Oreal, with the remainder publicly listed). She is also reportedly one of the world's most generous philanthropists, recently handing over $2.3 billion to a photographer who photographs various celebrities and members of royalty (hmmm... interesting choice), and who was photographer to Liliane and her now deceased husband, Andre.
Not surprisingly, this little act of generosity (well, little in Liliane's terms - she is, after all, worth over $34 billion) has enraged her only child, daughter Francoise Bettencourt Meyers (54) who has filed for "abuse of weakness" - essentially arguing that Liliane is making decisions without all her faculties in tact. Whatever.
Boring legal arguments aside, this is a fascinating family: the company was built up by Liliane's father on land that was confiscated from Jews during the second World War (the Bettencourt's are being sued for this, however it sounds as though settlements have been reached - another gift from the generous Liliane, perhaps?). Papa Bettencourt (Eugene Schuller) was thought to have been a Nazi sympathiser back in the day, and was apparently well aware that his company HQ (which he on-sold to the German govt some years later for $3.8 million) was on stolen land. Interestingly, Francoise - Eugene's granddaughter - married a Rabbi, whose parents died in the Auschwitz concentration camp. I wonder what granddad thought about that? I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at their Chrismukkah celebrations.
Liliane has so far refused to take a physical examination (which includes tests for mental deterioration). She seems fine though - the quote above was taken from an interview with Liliane just a month ago. If I had $34 billion and an investment in a company that isn't getting any smaller, I think I'd be perfectly happy to give huge chunks of my fortune away to my dear friends. And if I was next in line for the family fortune... What difference does a few billion make?
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