Nicolas Puech, a major Hermès shareholder, stunned the world last year by announcing his plan to leave his $13 billion fortune to his gardener through adoption. But in a surprising twist, the massive inheritance has mysteriously disappeared!
Nicolas Puech, a major Hermès shareholder, stunned the world last year by announcing his plan to leave his $13 billion fortune to his gardener through adoption. But in a surprising twist, the massive inheritance has mysteriously disappeared!
Initially established in Paris and originally producing leather harnesses, Hermès gradually shifted its focus towards fashion.
In fact, it still is. People are willing to wait months to purchase the brand's most iconic design, the Birkin bag.
The 80-year-old Nicolas Puech is also a shareholder in the fashion house, which is worth £200 billion, with a personal fortune of around $13 billion.
Having never married or had children, Puech announced that he would leave his fortune to his gardener, whom he described as a 'humble Moroccan family,' and even mentioned that he might adopt him if necessary.
Initially, Puech wanted to transfer his entire fortune to a small group of journalists, which angered the other Hermes family members (other children and grandchildren). Such an event would have marked the first time the fortune left the family.
The Hermès family formed a holding company to oppose the acquisition, but Puech did not join this holding. He was still planning to leave his fortune to someone else... Puech, who decided to adopt his 51-year-old gardener, suddenly lost his fortune.
Puech claims he has no idea and blames his wealth manager, Eric Freymond, for the disappearance of his fortune. Freymond, who had been working for him since 1998, was accused of committing 'an enormous fraud.'
The case, which was filed in 2023, was concluded last week. The court ruled that Puech had voluntarily given the management of his fortune to Eric Freymond and found that the wealth manager had committed no crime.
The fate of the 6 million shares Puech owned and how the gardener feels about the situation also remain unknown.