Billionaire Lily Safra, widow of banker Edmond Safra, died on Saturday at the age of 87, the Edmond J. Safra Foundation, of which she was president, announced in a press release.

“For more than twenty years, Ms. Safra has faithfully upheld the philanthropic legacy of her beloved husband Edmond, supporting hundreds of organizations around the world,” the foundation paid tribute.

His funeral will take place on July 11 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, she spent part of her life in Monaco and Geneva where she died.

She married Edmond Safra in 1976, from whom she inherited the fortune after his death in 1999 during an arson attack in his apartment in Monaco by one of his caregivers, a case that had hit the headlines.

Known for her philanthropic donations, she has notably supported research against Parkinson's disease and “other brain diseases”.

She had also donated 10 million euros to the Heritage Foundation, the day after the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.