The 80-year-old Hermès heir Nicolas Puech wants to bequeath his fortune to his gardener and craftsman, reports the newspaper Tribune de Genève. To do this, however, he must first adopt his “housekeeper”, a 51-year-old man whose name is not known.
Accordingly, Puech has already taken legal steps to make his gardener his heir, reports the Tribune de Genève. In October 2022, he is said to have instructed his lawyer to settle his estate and initiate adoption proceedings. In Switzerland it is not impossible, but very unusual, to adopt an adult. The domestic worker would thus become heir to “at least half” of Peuch’s assets. The man is allegedly of Moroccan origin, married to a Spanish woman and has a family. The man could also inherit Puech’s properties in Marrakech and Montreux, worth $5.9 million (€5.3 million).
Puech is a French citizen who has lived in Switzerland for many years. He is not married and has no children of his own. He is a fifth-generation descendant of Thierry Hermès, the man who founded the eponymous French luxury brand in 1837. Puech resigned from the Hermès board of directors in August 2014, but is said to still own 5.7 percent of the shares. Other family members together hold a majority stake.
The luxury conglomerate Hermès is currently valued at $220 billion (over €200 billion). The value of Puech’s stock holdings is estimated at $10 billion to $11 billion (€9 billion to €10 billion). According to the New York Post, this makes him currently one of the richest people in Switzerland.
This post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl