A complex web of legal battles and disputed fortunes continues to plague Nicolas Puech, the octogenarian heir to the Hermès luxury empire, Bloomberg reports.
A new lawsuit filed last month in Washington D.C. adds another layer to the mystery surrounding his multi-billion dollar stake in Hermès International SCA, raising questions about its whereabouts and a potential connection to the Emir of Qatar.
Honor America Capital LLC is accusing Puech of failing to deliver Hermès shares worth approximately €14 billion ($16 billion) as part of an alleged sale agreement. The chairman of Honor America claims the company and the purported purchase were backed by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The lawsuit seeks damages exceeding $1.3 billion for breach of contract.
However, Puech’s legal team vehemently denies his involvement.
“We strongly contest” that Puech played any role in the sale or was even aware of it until reading about it in the press, stated Gregoire Mangeat, one of Puech’s lawyers.
The roots of this controversy run deep, stretching back over a decade. Puech, a fifth-generation descendant of the Hermès founder, has been entangled in legal proceedings in both France and Switzerland, primarily centered around the status of his inheritance: roughly six million shares of Hermès stock. Puech has previously claimed he no longer has access to these shares.
The issue first surfaced publicly when LVMH founder and rival luxury magnate Bernard Arnault revealed he had secretly acquired a significant stake in Hermès. In 2014, a settlement was reached whereby LVMH distributed its Hermès shares to its shareholders and agreed to abstain from further purchases for five years. Following this agreement, Arnault began divesting his 23% holding, and Puech resigned from the Hermès supervisory board. However, the fate of Puech’s personal shareholding remained unclear.
The saga took another turn in 2023 when Puech accused his former money manager, Eric Freymond, of mishandling his assets over a period of more than two decades. Freymond refuted the allegations. An appeals court in Geneva dismissed Puech’s claims last July, stating that he had willingly delegated management of his finances to Freymond and possessed the ability to revoke the agreement at any time. The court further noted that Freymond managed two Swiss bank accounts containing Puech’s Hermès stock from 1998 to 2022, but that Puech retained ultimate control. Despite the ruling, the court found no evidence that Puech had been defrauded.
Puech, who has stated that his wealth has been decimated, did not appeal the 2024 decision. This leaves the status and location of the Hermès shares shrouded in ambiguity.
If Puech still holds his original stake of approximately 5.7%, he would be the largest individual shareholder in the iconic French company known for its Birkin handbags and signature silk scarves. Hermès, which declined to comment on the ongoing case, has witnessed a surge in market value in recent years. The Hermès family, with a collective net worth of around $192 billion, is considered the wealthiest family in Europe, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Documents submitted with the Honor America Capital complaint include purported letters and sale agreements between the company and Puech, allegedly facilitated by his lawyer, Francois Besse. One letter, dated February 27 and signed by Honor America Capital Chairman Abdulla Mishal Al Thani, expresses anticipation for the completion of the transaction, stating that it has the “full funding commitment from His Highness,” the Emir of Qatar. The validity of these documents remains under scrutiny.
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