The gifts filled more than 20 pages.
For hours, prosecutors read aloud a list of cash, paintings, insurance policies and luxury property that L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt had given to photographer François-Marie Banier. The estimated total approached €1 billion.
Banier insisted the gifts were freely offered by a woman who valued his friendship. Bettencourt’s daughter saw something darker: an aging mother, declining judgment and a charismatic companion steadily moving closer to one of Europe’s greatest fortunes.
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