Billionaire Hermes Heir Doesn't Know Where His Shares Went

Nicolas Puech made headlines late last year when the Hermès heir revealed he wanted to leave his fortune to his then-51-year-old gardener. Puech is now back in the headlines—though this time because his fortune seems to be gone. Bloomberg reports the 81-year-old claimed in Swiss court that he no longer holds his roughly 6 million shares of the family-controlled Hermès International SCA—that's a 5.7% stake—and pointed a finger at his former wealth manager. Puech claimed he didn't realize all his shares had been sold because all his bank statements were sent to financial manager Eric Freymond.

But the appeals court tossed his suit on July 12, saying there was no indication of mismanagement at the hands of Freymond or evidence that Puech was duped over the past two decades as some of his stock was sold. It found Puech willingly engaged Freymond and never said he didn't understand any of the papers he signed over the years. "The 'gigantic fraud' to which he was victim was undetectable to common mortals," the court found. "It's not clear who prevented the plaintiff from taking an interest in how his assets were evolving," but Puech's "blind trust" in Freymond does not equate to Freymond duping him, it said. Bloomberg notes the "Swiss decision leaves the question of the shares' whereabouts unanswered." (More Hermes stories.)