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!
Hermès Heir’s $13 Billion Fortune Vanishes After Shocking Inheritance Plan for Gardener
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Founded in 1837 by Thierry Hermès, Hermès is one of the world’s most luxurious fashion brands.
Initially established in Paris and originally producing leather harnesses, Hermès gradually shifted its focus towards fashion.
Today, Hermès has a net worth of $220 billion and has become a symbol of status.
In fact, it still is. People are willing to wait months to purchase the brand's most iconic design, the Birkin bag.
Currently, the brand is headed by Nicolas Puech, the 5th generation descendant of the founder.
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.
But who will inherit Puech's wealth? His gardener.
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.
As if the story of leaving his fortune to the gardener wasn’t interesting enough, there’s an even more intriguing twist.
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.
In 2011, LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Loewe, Bvlgari) attempted to acquire Hermès.
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.
So where did the lost fortune go?
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.'
However, the court did not side with Puech!
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.
Although the court ruled that no crime had been committed, it is still unclear how the fortune disappeared, where it is, and who holds it.
The fate of the 6 million shares Puech owned and how the gardener feels about the situation also remain unknown.