According to some lost and found statistics, the average person loses up to nine items daily. Over 60% of people have lost something significant in their lifetime. In the US alone, over 400 million items are lost and found every year. However, no one could have imagined what Nicolas Puech, a descendant of Hermès founder Thierry Hermès, experienced.Puech, who once owned about 6 million shares and was the largest investor in Hermès International SCA history, no longer holds these assets.
According to Puech’s lawyers, his financial manager, Eric Freymond, is responsible for this monumental mishap involving the fifth-generation Hermès heir. Puech made headlines in 2023 after promising to leave half of his fortune to his former gardener but has now claimed to have lost his billions. If his generosity shocked the world, his downfall is even more astonishing.
The octogenarian took his case to a Swiss court, which dismissed his claims regarding mismanaged Hermès shares, valued at approximately $13 billion. Swiss news outlet the Tribune de Genève reported that the stock was deposited in a Geneva bank in 2012, but it is now unclear where the shares are. According to Business Insider, the Geneva Public Prosecutor’s Office declined to investigate, a decision backed by the court on July 24.
Puech, who had been served by Freymond for over two decades, had given his financial manager unrestricted control of his bank accounts. If the man who took his wealth for granted had observed some caution and revoked Freymond’s access in time, his gardener might have become wealthier than his wealth manager.
