One of the biggest financial mysteries of the century has quietly unfolded in the luxury world. Nicolas Puech, an heir to the Hermès fortune, has seen his family company shares evaporate, shocking the global community. Hermès CEO Axel Dumas confirmed in an August earnings call that Puech, once the largest individual shareholder in the family, no longer holds any company shares.
Puech, 82, is a fifth-generation heir and cousin of current Hermès leader Axel Dumas. He previously owned approximately 6 million Hermès shares, representing about 6% of the company—worth roughly $15 billion at current valuations.
Even more astonishing is that until recently, Puech himself did not know how these shares had disappeared from his possession.
Now, the octogenarian has awakened from the illusion of his $15 billion fortune. According to reports, he is receiving financial assistance from some Hermès family members and close associates. Sources reveal that on a recent flight to London, he was squeezed into a middle seat on budget airline easyJet.
Puech disclosed in court filings that he has sought to sell his stake in Hermès real estate holdings, valued at around $1.2 million, as he claims to have nothing left.
The bubble of his vanished wealth was first burst by his gardener’s wife.
In the summer of 2022, while discussing routine finances at his Swiss mountain villa, Puech inquired about a transfer of 1 million Swiss francs to his longtime Moroccan gardener, Jadil Butrak, and his wife. However, his financial advisor, Patrice Freymond, appeared uneasy about the transaction.
The gardener’s wife later told Puech that Freymond had lied—no funds had ever been received. Helpless, Puech confided in a former French ambassador friend, who recommended an audit.
In 2023, the childless Puech announced plans to adopt the 51-year-old gardener and bequeath him part of his fortune—an unusual decision that drew global media attention and opposition from his namesake foundation.
At this point, neither the public nor Puech himself knew that the core of his wealth—the 6 million Hermès shares—had already been sold and diverted by Freymond.
Under Freymond’s influence, Puech had grown distant from the Hermès family. His birthday dinners no longer included any relatives.
By isolating Puech and preventing anyone from uncovering the fraud, Freymond maintained control. Key advisors, including lawyers, were manipulated into reinforcing a false narrative, convincing Puech he remained one of Europe’s wealthiest individuals.
In 2024, news broke that the massive fortune had vanished. Puech sued Freymond, accusing him of gross mismanagement, fraud, and concealing information that led to the disappearance of his Hermès shares.
Over the years, Freymond attempted various schemes to raise funds, including selling nonexistent Hermès shares to Qatari investors under Puech’s name—all unsuccessful.
As the fraud unraveled, Freymond faced mounting legal and financial pressure. Geneva courts froze his accounts, and on July 7, he was found dead on Swiss train tracks in a ruled suicide.
Freymond’s deceit began early in his career. In the 1980s, he married into a prominent Geneva family and joined private bank Ferrier Lullin & Cie, where his father-in-law was a partner. Despite rapid success, Freymond exhibited a pattern of misconduct, including causing a 1.3 million Swiss franc loss at the bank.
It was Freymond’s father-in-law who introduced him to Puech.
Puech and his cousin Jean-Louis Dumas were fifth-generation Hermès heirs. While Dumas led the company’s 1993 IPO and three decades of growth until his 2010 death, Puech briefly served as an executive before a failed fashion venture and later lived off Hermès dividends, enjoying a reclusive life breeding horses.
Puech considered Freymond a close friend, entrusting him with financial matters. In stark contrast, Freymond indulged in luxury, art, and complex investments.
In 1999, Freymond advised Puech to transfer his Hermès shares from France to Switzerland as unregistered bearer shares—making them easier to move. Around 2000, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, after losing a bid for Gucci, targeted Hermès with Freymond’s covert assistance.
Freymond later claimed Puech, anxious about succession as Jean-Louis Dumas’ tenure ended, sought to align Hermès with LVMH. However, Puech insists he never authorized selling inherited shares—only dividends or newly acquired shares could be traded.
A 2012 French regulatory report revealed Freymond transferred ~4.8 million Hermès shares from Puech’s account to entity Dilico, then to Société Générale as part of an LVMH swap. Insiders say LVMH was unaware.
An FTI audit showed these shares, worth ~€528 million in 2006, were sold in 2008 at €86 per share—today, Hermès trades at €2,129, 25 times higher. Effectively, most of Puech’s Hermès stake was sold to LVMH 15 years ago.
LVMH later distributed its Hermès holdings to shareholders in 2014 after French regulators fined it for undisclosed acquisitions.
By 2013, Puech retained 530,000 Hermès shares (~€130 million), but these too dwindled to zero over the next decade. Lawyers traced Freymond’s diversion of proceeds into failed ventures, including a French vineyard renovation.
Before his death, Freymond secretly shifted client accounts—including Puech’s—to the UAE, with some funds disappearing. Audits flagged transfers to Freymond-linked entities, including 200,000 shares moved to Dubai’s Noor Capital via a Panama shell company.
Freymond also jointly held accounts with Puech, siphoning €35.8 million into personal investments. When closed, €15 million remained with Freymond.
Throughout his career, Freymond faced multiple allegations, including a €4 million insider trading fine in 2010. Other clients, like actress Ursula Andress, accused him of misconduct.
Earlier this year, Freymond falsely told French authorities he and Puech were lovers—a claim Puech denies.
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