By Ari Guardiola | Journalist
If she has made her (obvious) choice between Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there is no question of deciding who she prefers between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton. Pisces ascendant Aquarius, she is endowed with a sixth sense which helps her to unearth the most hidden information about your favorite stars.
The fascinating documentary “The Bettencourt Affair: Scandal among the richest woman in the world (2023)”, available on Netflix, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the famous L’Oréal empire. But actually, how much did it pay to be a domestic worker for the richest woman in the world?
“We were overpaid”: This is how much the household employees of Liliane Bettencourt, the richest woman in the world, earned
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A few months ago, Netflix revealed The Bettencourt Affair: Scandal at the richest woman in the world (2023). A fascinating documentary, which focused more specifically on the relationship between Liliane Bettencourt and François-Marie Banier. The opportunity of course to learn more about the richest woman in the world, who died on September 21, 2017. But above all about the functioning behind the scenes of the empire. We thus learn that in the Neuilly house of Liliane Bettencourt, this is a “almost feudal“, compared even to the series Downtown Abbey. “There is lots of people who are very well paid, because there is a lot of money“, says Edwy Plenel, journalist and founder of Mediapart. But then how much did it pay to be a domestic worker for the richest woman in the world?
“Being employed by the Bettencourts is a golden position that you don’t want to leave at all costs.“. The daughter of Eugène Schueller, to whom we of course owe the L’Oréal cosmetics empire, was always well surrounded. The people working for her had deep respect and were clearly not to be pitied financially speaking. . In the documentary, a “circulation of money in this rather incredible house“. And it is this circulation as well as the amounts paid to each of the people employed by Liliane Bettencourt which will be balanced by the accountant Claire Thibout in the show Further investigationin 2010.”We pay the hairdresser in cash, we pay the physiotherapist, the osteopath, the swimming pool repairman who comes, we pay in cash. A completely crazy circulation of cash.”
Liliane Bettencourt, privileged employees? “It’s true that we were overpaid“
HAS Capitalon condition of anonymity, the former employees then spoke with nostalgia of their lost quality of life. “It’s true that we were overpaid“, said the accountant, Claire Thibout, in the show Further investigation. “10,000 euros for the cook; 8,000 for the butler; 3,500 for the gardener“, we learned. And to this was added envelopes of cash, supplements of up to three months’ salary, paid at the beginning of September, at tax time, but also in December and just before Christmas. “We talked about money all the time between us. We jostled to accompany Madame on vacation, because the fifteen days in Seychelles were ‘compensated’ up to 3,000 euros in cash“, confided anonymously, one of the lucky ones.
