Hermès Heir Wants To Hand Down His Fortune To His Gardener

Photo 137698659 © Vividaphoto | Dreamstime.com

Nicolas Puech, an heir to the prestigious Hermès fashion empire, has chosen to make his long-time gardener the beneficiary of a substantial portion of his fortune. 

The French businessman, whose net worth is estimated at US$11.5 billion, plans to bestow about half of his wealth, including a significant real estate portfolio, upon his gardener and the gardener’s family.

Puech’s relationship with his gardener, a Moroccan native who has served him for many years in various capacities—including as a gardener, handyman, and residence manager—is notably close. The gardener, a married father of two, has risen in Puech’s esteem to become akin to family.

Without a spouse or children of his own, Puech, 80, refers to his intended heir’s family as his own, calling them his “children” and the gardener his “adopted son.”

#1🧵 In a surprising twist of succession, billionaire #NicolasPuech, heir to #Hermes , plans to adopt his former gardener, who will inherit Puech's $11 billion fortune. 🌳💰 pic.twitter.com/6V89jttyV0

— DailyBrief (@getdailybrief) December 11, 2023

In preparation for this unconventional bequest, Puech has reportedly already transferred substantial properties to his gardener: a Moroccan property and a Swiss villa, collectively valued at nearly US$6 million.

Additionally, he has initiated legal adoption proceedings, though the process awaits clearance from authorities. If approved, this move could see the gardener inheriting a fortune from one of the fifth-generation heirs of Thierry Hermès, the founder of the Hermès dynasty, established in 1837.

However, this decision has not been without its controversies. Puech, who previously planned to bequeath his wealth to the Isocrates Foundation, a public-interest journalism fund he set up in 2011, faces legal challenges from the foundation. The foundation questions the legal basis of Puech’s intentions, noting Swiss laws that require an adoptee to have lived with the adopter as a minor for at least one year.

Puech’s intention to transfer a significant portion of his wealth to his gardener comes amid reported familial tensions within the Hermès family. Money must indeed be funny in a rich man’s world.

[via Forbes, Bloomberg, Insider, cover photo 137698659 © Vividaphoto | Dreamstime.com]