Hermès heir who promised his $13bn fortune to his gardener reveals there may be a catch

The billionaire scion of the luxury design house Hermès promised he would leave his $13billion fortune to his gardener, but it turns out there may be a catch.

Nicolas Puech, 81, made headlines last year when he announced that he was moving to adopt his former greenskeeper, 51, which would make the worker the billionaire's rightful heir.

He was valued by Forbes in 2024 as being worth  $13.6 billion thanks to his stake at Hermes, which has a market capitalization of $248 billion.

But Puech has told a Swiss court he does not actually have much of a fortune left to hand out, with a judge rejecting his claims that his former wealth manager Eric Freymond played a role in his fortune's disappearance, as reported by Bloomberg. 

Puech's lawyers said in court that he does not own the $13 billion in assets of Hermès International SCA (a 5.7 percent stake) which is controlled by his family who has a total net worth of about $155 billion.

Nicolas Puech, 81, made headlines last year when he announced that he was moving to adopt his former greenskeeper, 51, which would make the worker the billionaire's rightful heir

An appeals court in Geneva, however, found no evidence that Freymond mismanaged the fifth-generation heir's money.

Puech claimed he did not realize he did not own the Hermes shares because he relied on Freymond to receive his bank statements.

Puech, who does not have kids and is not married, is said to have referred to his former gardener - reportedly from a 'modest Moroccan family' - and his wife as his 'children'. 

The 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.

An appeals court in Geneva, however, found no evidence that his former wealth manager Freymond (pictured) mismanaged the fifth-generation heir's money

Puech was valued by Forbes in 2024 as being worth $13.6 billion thanks to his stake at Hermes, which has a market capitalization of $248 billion

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.

Puech had in 2011 pledged to bestow his fortune upon the Isocrates Foundation - a philanthropic organization he founded which provides grants to 'support the fundamental role civil society organizations play in safeguarding and stimulating public debate'.

According to its website, the foundation 'funds and supports public interest journalism and media organizations 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.