Hermès heir promised to leave $13 billion fortune to his gardener. Now, the money is gone

The heir to luxury fashion brand Hermès, who had promised to give a share of his billions to his gardener, now claims that he has nothing left in the bank. Nicholas Puech, 81, alleged in the court that his $13 billion fortune has seemingly gone missing and his former wealth manager Eric Freymond may have a role to play. However, on July 12, a Swiss court ruled that Freymond could not be held responsible for the missing funds, leaving the fortune and the future of the said gardener hanging in the balance, Bloomberg reported. Puech owned a 5.7% stake in Hermes, which was part of the founding family's total share in the $220 billion company, as per the New York Post.

A $13 Billion Missing Fortune

According to Forbes, Nicolas Puech's wealth soared with the growth of the luxury brand Hermès, founded by his ancestor Thierry Hermès. In 2020, Puech's stake soared to a whopping $3.1 billion valuation as the brand best known for its Berkins and Kelly bags became France's second most valuable company.

Puech had given control of his vast fortune to his wealth manager of two decades, Eric Freymond. However, he took it back in October 2022, as he set out to take stock of his fortune and organize his succession, according to the court documents, the Bloomberg report said. The Frenchman shocked the world by announcing that he would give a chunk of his wealth to his Moroccan gardener by adopting him. 

However, a year later, the fashion house heir filed three cases against Freymond alleging that he had withheld information and wouldn’t return his Hermès shares. Puech claimed that he didn't know that he was no longer the owner of the shares, as the running of his accounts was handled by Freymond. 

Earlier this month, the appeals court in Geneva threw out Puech's claim, stating that there was no evidence of Freymond defrauding him. The court added that it was Puech who signed over blank documents to Freymond and willingly gave up control of his accounts. Thus, Freymond could not be held responsible for the now allegedly missing funds.

Why did Puech Choose the Gardener?

The New York Post reported that there isn't much known about Puech's ties with the unidentified "gardener and handyman". The surprise move of the heir to pass on his wealth to the man met with great speculation. As per Puech's promise, the gardener was to receive immense wealth and real-estate properties. 

In December 2023, the Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève reported that Puech was in the process of adopting his gardener as his legal heir and was rearranging the beneficiaries of his estate. Now, it seems like the billions Puech had promised may no longer be inherited by the handyman. 

Furthermore, the missing fortune is reportedly part of the fallout from the hostile takeover attempt of Hermès by Louis Vuitton owner Bernard Arnault. Since Puech allegedly helped the fellow billionaire, he was left as a family outcast. 

However, it seems like the battle isn't over for Puech as his newly appointed lawyers, Grégoire Mangeat and Fanny Margairaz, told Fortune that their team was “in the process of studying the criminal file in detail.” But it isn't clear what the future holds as the lawyers declined to comment on the case further.

This article originally appeared 3 months ago.