The Bettencourt Affair: The World’s Richest Woman and the Scandal That Rocked Paris

345 Pages·2017·6.1 MB·English

by  Tom Sancton

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014
Copyright © 2017 by Thomas A. Sancton Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity,
encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an
authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or
distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin
to continue to publish books for every reader.
DUTTON is a registered trademark and the D colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
has been applied for.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Ebook ISBN 9781101984482
While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other
contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any
responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any
control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Version_1
For Maya Jane Sancton,
who came into the world while this book was gestating, and
brightens every day
Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you
and me.
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, “A Diamond as Big as the Ritz”
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in
its own way.
—Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
Do you think I’m going to go to court and plead against my
mother, to add a public scandal to a private one?
—Thomas Mann, Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family
C
ONTENTS
Map of Paris
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
Author's Note
Prologue: Lost in the Fog
P O
ART NE
Life Before Banier
1. The Founder
2. The Heiress and the Consort
3. Poor Little Rich Girl
P T
ART WO
Banier Enters the Scene
4. Portrait of the Artist
5. Such Good Friends
6. Dark Roots
7. A Generous Man
8. The Christmas Visitor
9. The Ambitious Monsieur Sarkozy
10. The Whistle-blower
P T
ART HREE
The Bettencourt Affair
11. The Opening Salvo
12. Sibling Rivals
13. Sarkozy Joins the Fray
14. Metzner’s End Run
P F
ART OUR
The Net Spreads Wider
15. The Butler Did It
16. Behind Closed Doors
17. The Woerth Affair
18. Filthy Rich
19. Banier’s Année Terrible
20. The Fixer
P F
ART IVE
The Endgame
21. Bordeaux
22. Hardball
23. A President in the Crosshairs
24. Banier Strikes Back
25. Life and Death
26. The Reckoning
27. The Eye of the Beholder
28. The Wheels of Justice
29. Farewell to Paradise?
30. The Verdict
Epilogue: Wings
Cast of Characters
Acknowledgments
Notes
About the Author