The Bettencourt Affair, by the Numbers

By Patrick Kovarick/AFP/Getty Images.

The legal saga of Liliane Bettencourt—92-year-old heiress to the L’Oreal fortune, and second richest woman in the world—has lasted for years, after her estranged daughter, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, filed a lawsuit alleging that her mother was in unfit condition to manage her estate in 2007. The resulting legal cases have captivated European society and dragged on since that time.

Past installments of the Bettencourt affair dealt with the legal management of her affairs, and potential contraband political donations. This winter, however, French judges heard arguments as to whether Bettencourt was of sound enough mind to give away more than a billion dollars to friends and acquaintances in recent years. Was she simply more generous in her old age, or did she fall prey to an inner circle, which included French society photographer François-Marie Banier and former budget minister Éric Woerth, that took advantage of her advanced age?

On Thursday French judges delivered a decision that, as the Independent reported, totaled 248 pages. Woerth was acquitted. Banier was sentenced to three years in prison, and seven other defendants were found in some way accountable for taking advantage of the ailing heiress. We’ve broken down what all the fuss was about from her fortune (measured in billions) to prison terms (measured in years).

$40.1 billion: The estimated fortune of Liliane Bettencourt. She is the 10th richest person and the second-richest woman in the world.

$1.13 billion: The estimated worth of gifts given to François-Marie Banier, a French society photographer and close confident of Bettencourt, by Bettencourt over a 20-year period.

€262 million: Value of the life-insurance policy given to Banier by Bettencourt, although her signature was noticeably missing a “t” on the policy. For a brief period of time, Banier was also the sole beneficiary in her will—until Bettencourt Meyers sued, saying that this proved her mother was unfit to run her own estate. Bettencourt Meyers won. Her mother’s response to the legal action: her daughter was “une emmerdeuse” (a pain in the ass).

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$38 million: The reported value of a tax break Bettencourt received while Nicolas Sarkozy served president of France, a number that ignited a scandal in France, especially since Sarkozy’s budget minster, Éric Woerth, and his wife were cozy with the Bettencourts.

€10 million: Value in a savings account belonging to Bettencourt nurse Alain Thurin. Prosecutors say Thurin conned Bettencourt out of the money, but he says she created the account without his knowledge. Thurin attempted suicide in late January.

$1 million: The amount, that when asked, Bettencourt believed she gave to Banier, more than a billion off the mark.

€350,000: The fine judges ordered Banier to pay Thursday. On Wednesday he was ordered to return €158 million to Bettencourt. He had previously returned a reported €500 million.

2,000: The number of faxes exchanged between Banier and Bettencourt since 2007.

92: The age of Bettencourt, who is deaf and suffers from signs of dementia.

56: The number of daily pills taken by Bettencourt, including antidepressants.

25: The age difference in years between Bettencourt and Banier. It has been reported that Banier begged Bettencourt to adopt him—an alleged ploy to become closer to her fortune—a fact Banier called “grotesque” and “insane.” He told Vanity Fair in 2010: “Our relationship is sensitive—we have no age when we speak to each other. To make me her son would denote a generation gap between us.” Added Diane von Furstenberg: “She really likes him and wants to help him, but it’s not like a gigolo and a rich lady at all.”

21: Hours of recorded conversation by butler Pascal Bonnefoy, in Bettencourt’s drawing room, where she (and her financial advisors) conducted much of her business, between 2009 and 2010. The tapes led to allegations of tax fraud, illegal donations, and political meddling, and have been a cornerstone of the Bettencourt affair ever since. Bonnefoy say he recorded the conversations to show Bettencourt’s fragile state and how she was being “abused by people without scruples”, whereas critics say he was in cahoots with Bettencourt Meyers. In the background of some tapes, Bettencourt can be heard snoring.

21: Length, in meters, of the sailboat that Patrice De Maistre, Bettencourt’s wealth manager, allegedly purchased with some of Bettencourt’s money.

12: Pieces of priceless artwork promised to Banier by Bettencourt, including works by Picasso, Matisse, and Fernand Léger.

10: Total number of defendants in the Bettencourt trial that are accused of being involved with defrauding the heiress.

3: Years in prison, Banier was sentenced to; six months were suspended. Banier’s boyfriend Martin d’Orgeval received an 18-month suspended sentence. Maistre and another advisor, Pascal Wilhelm, were sentenced to 30 months in prison, 12 of which were suspended.

1: Island in the Seychelles allegedly given to Banier by Bettencourt. When asked about his association with the island, Banier replied, “I detest this island. It is full of mosquitoes, it is tiny, and it’s very humid. On top of all that, there are sharks. I hate islands.”