The heir to luxury fashion brand Hermes, who promised to leave half his wealth to his former gardener last year, is now claiming the money has vanished.
Nicolas Puech, the 81-year-old descendant of Hermes founder Thierry Hermes, told court that the 6 million shares of Hermès he owned which were worth about $13 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) have suddenly disappeared.
The billionaire has blamed his former wealth manager who worked for him for the last 20 years, claiming he played a part in the loss of the shares, according to a reports.
However, his claims were rejected by a Swiss court after it found that he was unable to provide any proof of wrongdoing. “The ‘gigantic fraud’ to which he was victim was undetectable to common mortals,” the court said.
According to reports, it is unclear where the shares, which was deposited in a bank in Geneva in 2012, are now.
Mr Puech, a single man with no children, is one of the heirs to the luxury bag brand and had promised to leave half his fortune to his former gardener and handyman.
In 2023, he said he wants to leave a big portion of his wealth to his former gardener, who he’s planning on adopting.
Reports say Mr Puech owns 5.7% of Hermes’ shares, which might seem like a small portion but makes him the largest individual shareholder.
As per Forbes, Mr Puech’s current net worth is around $11.7 billion, making him the world’s 161st-richest person.
Not much is known about the gardener-handyman other than that he has worked for Mr Puech for decades as a residence manager. He is currently 51 and originally from Morocco.
