Marie Besnier Beauvalot

Dairy heiress Marie Besnier Beauvalot owns 20.7% of French dairy giant Lactalis, based in her family's ancestral hometown of Laval in western France.Her grandfather founded the company in 1933, and her older brother Emmanuel now runs the firm as CEO and majority shareholder.Lactalis sells $20 billion of products including President brie, Milkmaid yogurts and Valbreso Feta.The family also own stakes in Italy's publicly traded Parmalat and Frommageries Bel, the French maker of Baby Bel, La Vache Qui Rit and Boursin. The biggest dairy producer in Europe, Lactalis continues to expand internationally in places like China and Southeast Asia.