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France is home to world’s richest woman

Two French tycoons have made it into the the annual American-dominated Forbes rich list, it was revealed on Tuesday, including L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, who can lay claim to the grand title of the world's richest woman.

Published: 5 March 2013 11:48 CET
France is home to world's richest woman
Principal shareholder and heiress of L'Oréal Liliane Bettencourt is the world's richest woman Photo: AFP

In securing the title of the richest woman in the world the heiress and principal shareholder of cosmetics and beauty giant L’Oréal, Bettencourt, was the only female to make it into the top ten of the 2013 Forbes list. At the grand old age of 90 Bettencourt, whose fortune is estimated to be worth around €30 billion was also the oldest person in the top ten.

She is joined in the pantheon of the world's most loaded people by her compatriot the CEO of luxury brand LVMH (Louis Vuitton Möet Hennessy) Bernard Arnault, who scraped tenth place with his estimated fortune worth 29 billion dollars.

However in dropping down from his position as fourth in the 2012 list it seems Arnault has not had as good a year as he might have hoped. 

With French tycoons taking ninth and tenth place, France was the second most dominant nation in the top ten.    

However this might not last.

Arnault may be flying the flag for France this year but by next year he could be representing different colours all together after making a controversial bid for Belgian citizenship last autumn.

The mogul has denied he is seeking tax exile status from France but continues to cause uproar in his native country after it emerged earlier this year he had  transferred 'almost all' his wealth to Belgium.

French luxury goods mogul Francois Pinault also featured in the top hundred securing 53rd place with a net worth of $15 billion and compatriot Serge Dassault, who made his fortune in aviation, made it to 69th place with $13 billion. 

Mexican magnate Carlos Slim was the world’s richest person for the fourth year running, with his fortune estimated at an incredible $73 billion. He is followed by Microsoft former chief executive Bill Gates with has a handy $56 billion to fall back on if times get hard.

The most dominant continent represented on the list was Asia, which is home to 608 billionaires. There were 440 from the North America and 324 in Europe.

Forbes top ten richest people in the world 2013:

1. Carlos Slim – $73 billion
2. Bill Gates – $67 billion
3. Amancio Ortega – $57 billion
4. Warren Buffet – $53,5 billion
5. Larry Ellison – $43 billion
6. Charles Koch (ex-aequo) – $34 billion
6'. David Koch – $34 billion
8. Li Ka-Shing – $31 billion
9. Liliane Bettencourt – $30 billion                                                                      

10. Bernard Arnaud – $29 billion

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TAXES

Explained: France’s exit tax

Planning on leaving France? You may, depending on your circumstances, be charged the 'exit tax'.

Published: 11 April 2024 11:28 CEST
Explained: France's exit tax

Like some other European countries, France does have an exit tax for those (French or foreign) who are leaving the country. It’s known by the English name l’Exit tax.

However, it won’t affect most people.

Only those who have been tax resident for a minimum six years of the 10 years immediately before they permanently move out of the country are liable to pay an exit tax – if, that is, they own property, titles or rights worth a minimum of €800,000, or that represent 50 percent of a company’s social profits.

If that affects you, the best advice is to seek expert individual financial advice before moving out of France for good. The relevant page on the French government’s impot.gouv.fr website says it is possible to defer payments, and some relief is available.

Because of the relatively high figures involved, this tax is irrelevant for most people. That said, however, you will still have to inform tax authorities that you are moving out of the country because you may still have income, property and capital gains taxes to pay.

Income tax

You must inform the tax office that you are moving and give them your new address so that your tax declarations can be transferred to your new address.

You are liable for tax on everything you earned in France prior to your departure as well as on any French earnings that are taxable in France under international tax treaties that you earned after your departure.

The year of your departure, you declare your previous year’s earnings as normal – declarations in spring 2024 are for earnings in 2023.

A year later, you will have to declare any earnings taxable in France from January 1st up to the date of your departure, and any French-sourced income taxable source until December 31st of the year of your departure.

If you continue to have any French-sourced income – such as from renting out a French property – you will have to declare that income annually, using the non-residents declaration form.

Property taxes

You will have property taxes to pay if you own a French property on January 1st of any given year – whether it is occupied or not. 

Property tax bills come out in the autumn, but they refer to the situation on January 1st of that year, so even if you sell your property you will usually have the pay a final property tax bill the following year.

Moreover, if you receive income from property in France or have rights related to that property (such as shared ownership or stock in property companies), as well as any additional revenue connected to the property, during the year you leave France, you will be required to pay taxes on these earnings.

If any property assets in France exceed €1.3 million on January 1st of a given year, you may also have to pay the wealth tax (IFI).

READ ALSO What is France’s wealth tax and who pays it?

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Capital gains tax 

If you sell your French property or share of a French property, you may be liable for capital gains tax at a rate of 19 percent. It will also be subject to social security contributions at the overall rate of 17.2 percent.

Capital gains tax varies depending on how long you have owned the property and whether it was a second home or your main residence.

READ ALSO How much capital gains tax will I have to pay if I sell my French property?

The good news is, if you move to another EU country, or any country that has a specific tax agreement with France, you may be exempt from capital gains tax for non-resident sellers on the sale of a property that was your principal residence in France.

If you move elsewhere, you may be able to claim exemption on capital gains tax up to €150,000. As always, you should seek expert financial advice.

Tell Social Security

Inform social security that you are leaving France permanently – and return your carte vitale if you have one. If you do not, you may be liable for any benefits you receive to which you are no longer entitled.

More mundane tasks involve informing utility and water companies, your internet provider, if you have one, the phone company, your insurance companies, banks – and La Poste, who will be able to forward your mail for up to 12 months, for a fee…

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