Mrs. Bettencourt did not dispute the gifts, which her lawyers valued at $1.4 billion. In October 2011, a judge ordered Mrs. Bettencourt placed under her daughter’s guardianship after a medical evaluation found she had dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. In 2012, Mrs. Bettencourt gave up her seat on L’Oréal’s board of directors and her grandson was appointed to the board. The Bettencourt family and Nestlé, the Swiss multinational food company, had long been the dominant shareholders, with roughly similar holdings. In its ruling in 2015, the French court that sentenced Mr. Banier cleared Mr. Woerth of all charges.

Source: New York Times September 21, 2017 16:21 UTC