Celeb photograher Banier out of L'Oréal heiress's will

Celebrity photographer Francois-Marie Banier has been cut out of the will of L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, her lawyer said Saturday. Bettencourt’s gifts to Banier led to a long-running legal spat with her daughter which developed into a political scandal. 

Reuters

The change was made in mid-July, Lawyer Georges Kiejman said, and no-one else had been added to the will in his place.

Bettencourt, who is France’s richest woman, had understood that "enough was enough", said Kiejman. Banier has received gifts worth nearly a billion euros from the 87-year-old over the years, sparking accusations from her daughter that he has taken advantage of her.

Several judicial investigations are under way into questions linked to Bettencourt's fortune, including allegations of tax evasion and illegal campaign funding that have implicated  Labour Minister Eric Woerth.

Banier, 63, was Bettencourt's sole legatee in the will drawn up in December 2007, though her daughter still stands to inherit her 30 per cent interest in the global cosmetics giant that is the source of her fortune.