Billionaire Hermes handbag boss Nicolas Puech, 80, ‘is adopting his 51-year-old gardener so he can leave him half his £9billion fortune in his will’
- Nicolas Puech, 80, is moving to adopt his 51-year-old former greenskeeper
The billionaire scion of the renowned luxury design house Hermès has reportedly made the extraordinary decision to leave a substantial portion of his vast wealth to his longtime gardener and handyman.
Nicolas Puech, 80, is moving to adopt his former greenskeeper, 51, which would make the worker the billionaire’s rightful heir, according to sources cited by Swiss publication Tribune de Genève.
As the fifth-generation descendant of Thierry Hermès, the founder of the iconic Hermès brand in 1837, Puech’s wealth is estimated to be around $11.5 billion (£9 billion), with reports suggesting he owns between five and six per cent of the fashion house, valued at over £183 billion.
Puech, who does not have kids and is not married, is said to have referred to his former employee – reportedly from a ‘modest Moroccan family’ – and his wife as his ‘children’.
Nicolas Puech, 80, is moving to adopt his former greenskeeper, 51, which would make the worker the billionaire’s rightful heir, according to sources cited by Swiss publication Tribune de Genève
Puech’s wealth is estimated to be around $11.5 billion (£9 billion)
Shoppers queue to enter the French high fashion luxury clothing manufacturer Hermes store
Katharine McPhee is seen outside ‘Good Morning America’ on December 13, 2023 in New York City carrying a Hermes bag
The alleged decision to adopt his greenskeeper comes off the back of suspected family tensions, which arose in part due to a rival takeover of a significant stake in Hermès shares.
Luxury behemoth LVMH, owned by Bernard Arnault – one of the world’s richest people – is said to have acquired a major stake in Hermès after Puech resigned from his forefather’s supervisory board, citing family problems.
If the adoption is authorised by courts, the gardener is poised to inherit significant assets from his former employer, including properties in his native Morocco, as well as Puech’s retreat in Montreux, Switzerland.
But the value of said properties, thought to be almost £5 million, pales in comparison to Puech’s £9 billion fortune – half of which he intends to pass on to the gardener and his family.
This altruistic move could result in the gardener receiving more than £4.5 billion.
But the adoption is likely to face significant legal challenges on various fronts.
Kim Kardashian holds an American Horror Story script while heading to set in New York City. Kardashian carried a giant $100k Hermes Birkin bag
Nicolas Puech
A couple walk with Hermes shopping bags as they leave a Hermes store in Paris
Firstly, Puech had in 2011 pledged to bestow his fortune upon the Isocrates Foundation – a philanthropic organisation he founded which provides grants to ‘support the fundamental role civil society organisations play in safeguarding and stimulating public debate’.
According to its website, the foundation ‘funds and supports public interest journalism and media organisations committed to strengthening the field of investigative journalism’.
Meanwhile, the adoption of adults is not a typical occurrence in Switzerland, where Puech resides for tax reasons.
The process typically requires the adopting party to have shared a relationship with the adoptee for at least some part of their childhood years, with another regulation stipulating an adult adoptee must have spent at least a year living with their adoptive parent as a minor.
MailOnline has contacted Hermes for comment.
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