Nicolas Puech Net Worth

What is Nicolas Puech's Net Worth?

Nicolas Puech is a Swiss businessman, philanthropist, and heir to the Hermès fortune who is currently embroiled in one of the strangest financial sagas in modern history. Once believed to be worth over $14 billion thanks to a 6% stake in Hermès, today his net worth is estimated to be around $50 million — though even that figure remains speculative, given ongoing legal disputes over the fate of his shares.

A fifth-generation descendant of Hermès founder Thierry Hermès, Puech was once among the wealthiest individuals in Europe. Hermès, the French luxury brand famous for its ultra-exclusive Birkin bags, silk scarves, and leather goods, has a market cap of over $300 billion and is still majority-owned by members of the Hermès family. The extended family has a combined estimated fortune of $155 billion.

Puech joined the Hermès supervisory board in 2012 and remained a board member until 2023. His estimated 6% ownership made him one of the brand's most powerful shareholders — until, that is, his fortune suddenly vanished under murky circumstances.

The Gardener Inheritance

In December 2023, Nicolas shocked the luxury world when he announced plans to leave half his fortune to his longtime gardener, a married Moroccan man described as a former handyman and servant. What made the decision even more unexpected was that Puech adopted the gardener as his legal son, a move that under Swiss law would exempt the man from inheritance taxes and grant him the same legal rights as a biological child.

This announcement directly contradicted a prior inheritance agreement Puech had signed with the Isocrates Foundation, a philanthropic organization he founded in 2011 to support journalism and civic engagement in digital spaces. That contract entitled the foundation to inherit his Hermès shares — unless he became a father. The gardener adoption effectively triggered that clause and derailed the foundation's plans, prompting legal challenges and public scrutiny.

The Missing $14 Billion

In early 2024, Puech publicly claimed he no longer knew where his Hermès shares were. He alleged that his former financial advisor had committed a massive fraud, possibly beginning as early as 1998, and had either sold the shares without his knowledge or placed them in a foreign trust beyond his control. Because Puech's shares were reportedly held as bearer shares — a now-rare and untraceable form of stock ownership — proving ownership became nearly impossible.

Swiss courts rejected his claims of fraud, ruling that Puech had knowingly given his advisor full authority over his assets. But Puech continues to pursue legal remedies in French courts, claiming that the advisor may have funneled the shares to third parties — possibly even to Bernard Arnault, the billionaire CEO of LVMH, who once attempted a stealth takeover of Hermès in the early 2010s.

The Qatar Lawsuit

In April 2025, the story took another international turn. According to a lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court, Puech signed a contract on February 10, 2025, to sell over 6 million Hermès shares — now worth more than $15 billion — to an investment firm backed by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar. The deal was orchestrated through a company called Honor America Capital, funded by the Qatari royal family.

But just weeks later, Puech backed out of the deal, claiming he was "unable" to access the shares. In a March 19 letter submitted as part of the lawsuit, his lawyer said repeated efforts to locate or retrieve the shares had failed and it would be "futile" to attempt another closing date.

Honor America Capital has sued for $1.3 billion in damages, accusing Puech of breach of contract and damaging their reputation and investment opportunity. Though the complaint is now sealed, the litigation continues to shine a light on Puech's increasingly tangled fortune.

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