L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt dies aged 94

French businesswoman and heiress of cosmetics giant L‘Oreal Liliane Bettencourt, 94, has died, her daughter said on Thursday.

The Bettencourt family, which founded L‘Oreal, has a 33 percent stake in the company.

“In this painful moment for us, I would like to reiterate, on behalf of our family, our entire commitment and loyalty to L‘Oreal and to renew my confidence in its President Jean-Paul Agon and his teams worldwide,” Françoise Bettencourt Meyers said in an emailed statement.

Agon was appointed chairman and chief executive of L‘Oreal in 2011.

"All of L'Oréal's employees join me in expressing our most sincere condolences and affectionate thoughts in these sad moments to Mrs. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, Mr. Jean-Pierre Meyers, and their two sons Jean-Victor and Nicolas," Agon said via press release.

Bettencourt was also known as the wealthiest woman in the world, according to a rating compiled by Forbes earlier this year which estimated her net worth at $39.5 billion.