Over the past decades, Puech has mostly remained under the radar, described in public documents as a French national with an education in the arts who resides in Orsieres in the Valais – an Alpine region bordering France and Italy known for chic ski resorts including Crans Montana and Verbier. The clan emerged this month as the world’s third wealthiest in Bloomberg’s annual ranking of family fortunes. The stakes could potentially run into the billions of dollars because Puech, who isn’t known to have children, purportedly owns about 5.7% of Hermes.Ī post-pandemic boom in demand for Hermes’ leather handbags and colorful silk scarves has propelled the company’s market value to €211bil (US$231bil), which would make Puech’s stake worth about €12bil. The unusual dispute is shining a spotlight on one of the most secretive Hermes heirs who became a family outcast more than a decade ago over his role in a four-year corporate fight against rival LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, founded by tycoon Bernard Arnault. Hermes, meanwhile, declined to comment on the report or Puech’s stake in the company. Puech’s lawyer, Jorn-Albert Bostelmann, declined to comment on specifics regarding his client, but said he may hold a press conference “to separate the fact from the fiction and to dispel some of the nonsense that has been reported in the media.” “The foundation has opposed this move, while leaving the door open to discussion with its founder and president.” “From a legal standpoint, the abrupt and unilateral annulment of a succession agreement appears void and unfounded,” Isocrates said in the statement. The move comes after Puech, 80, was reported to have begun administrative procedures to adopt his middle-aged gardener to whom he would bequeath at least some of his fortune.

The organisation is publicly contesting the plan to sever ties. Nicolas Puech, a reclusive fifth-generation descendant of the founder of French luxury giant Hermes International SCA, wants to cancel his inheritance contract with his Isocrates Foundation, the charity’s press office said in a statement. BATTLE lines are hardening in Switzerland’s Valais canton between an ageing billionaire heir to Europe’s biggest family fortune and his own charitable foundation.

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