André Bettencourt (born 1919) is a French businessman and politician who served in various capacities in the governments of Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou.

In the 1920's and 1930's, he was a fascist sympathizer, active in La Cagoule (The Cowl), a French fascist organization financed by Eugène Schueller, the founder of French cosmetics giant L'Oréal, at whose corporate headquarters the Cagoule leaders are said to have held their meetings. Under Vichy France, Bettencourt authored a series of articles for "Terre Francaise," a magazine published in France by the National Socialist propaganda ministry, including blatant screeds against Jews, calling for their wholesale destruction.

Bettencourt married Schueller's daughter, Liliane Bettencourt (née Schueller) in June 1950. He then headed the L'Oréal cosmetics group until the publication of his Nazi past by a Jewish businessman, Jean Frydman , forced him to step down in disgrace (see references below).

He was elected a member of the Académie des beaux-arts (Section VI: Unattached members) on March 23, 1988.

Internal Links

• L'Oréal
• Eugène Schueller
• Liliane Bettencourt

• Vichy France

External links

• Biography on the Académie des beaux-arts' website (in French)
• Official website of L'Oréal
• Forbes Magazine Article on Liliane Bettencourt
• Forbes article: Father's Past Haunts French Billionaire
• Book Review of Bitter Scent by Michael Bar-Zohar

References

• Michael Bar-Zohar, Bitter Scent: The Case of L'Oréal, Nazis, and the Arab Boycott (London, Dutton Books : 1996) pp. 264.

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