Key Takeaways
- Hermès heir Nicolas Puech claimed his $15 billion in shares were missing and he was out of money.
- Puech, 82, disinherited his foundation, fired his financial advisor, and planned to adopt his handyman.
- A decades-long corporate rivalry between Hermès and LVMH is linked to Puech's missing fortune.
- Puech sued his former financial advisor, Eric Fraymont, alleging fraud and theft of his shares.
Deep Dive
- Fifth-generation Hermès heir Nicolas Puech, 82, claimed to be out of money despite his $15 billion in Hermès shares.
- Puech was previously the luxury company's largest individual shareholder, holding approximately 6% of its stock.
- Reporter Nick Kostov initiated a year-long investigation into the baffling disappearance of Puech's fortune.
- Nicolas Puech, 82, who is unmarried and childless, had initially planned to bequeath his fortune to a foundation he established.
- In 2023, Puech abruptly notified his foundation he was canceling their inheritance agreement, citing concerns about fortune protection.
- A year prior, Puech also terminated his 25-year professional relationship with financial advisor Eric Frémont without explanation.
- Puech's former financial advisor, Eric Freymond, claimed Puech was fragile and manipulated by his live-in handyman and the handyman's wife.
- Freymond alleged Puech intended to adopt the handyman and his wife and leave them his fortune, overriding prior commitments.
- Freymond reported these concerns to a Swiss welfare agency, but the report was dismissed, and Puech's lawyer called the allegations absurd.
- Reporter Nick Kostov suggests Puech's actions are tied to a decades-long conflict between Hermès and the luxury conglomerate LVMH.
- LVMH, led by Bernard Arnaud, secretly acquired Hermès shares through Puech's financial advisor, Eric Fraymont.
- Fraymont allegedly helped LVMH build a 14% stake in Hermès without alerting the company.
- In 2010, LVMH publicly revealed its 14% stake in Hermès, with plans to increase it to 17%, causing shock within Hermès.
- Nicolas Puech denied selling his shares, a mystery compounded by his use of unregistered bearer shares.
- In 2023, Puech sued his former advisor Eric Fraymont, alleging fraud and theft of his Hermès shares, suspecting they were sold to LVMH without permission.
- Fraymont strongly denied the accusations of fraud and theft, asserting 25 years of honest work, shortly before his death.