World Richest Woman Dies at Age 94

PARIS—Liliane Bettencourt, one of the world’s richest women and heiress to the L’Oréal cosmetics fortune, died Thursday. She was 94.

“My mother has left peacefully,” Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, her daughter, said in a statement.

Ms. Bettencourt-Meyers, who was appointed guardian of Ms. Bettencourt’s assets in 2011, and her sons control 33% of L’Oréal SA’s shares. Ms. Bettencourt-Meyers Thursday affirmed her support for Jean-Paul Agon, the company’s chief executive.

“In this painful moment for us, I would like to reiterate, on behalf of our family, our entire commitment and loyalty to L’Oréal and to renew my confidence in its President Jean-Paul Agon and his teams world-wide.”