The previous adviser to an Hermès inheritor has died as a longstanding thriller over the whereabouts of firm shares value some €14 billion ($25 billion) stays unsolved.
Eric Freymond labored for twenty-four years as a wealth supervisor to Hermès descendant Nicolas Puech earlier than their relationship soured, resulting in a court docket case in Geneva. The rich octogenarian Puech alleged that Freymond had performed a task within the disappearance of some 6 million shares in Hermès Worldwide SCA that he had inherited.
Eric Freymond labored for twenty-four years as a wealth supervisor to Hermès descendant Nicolas Puech (pictured) earlier than their relationship soured, resulting in a court docket case in Geneva.
A choice by an appeals court docket in Geneva final yr discovered no proof that Freymond mismanaged Puech’s fortune or that the reclusive, fifth-generation inheritor was duped over an in depth interval throughout which period at the very least a few of the inventory was bought. Freymond denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
Freymond’s lawyer Yannis Sakkas confirmed the dying, saying he was “deeply shocked by the horrible information.” Freymond was 67.
The dispute over Puech’s stake in Hermès was one of the crucial enduring mysteries within the fallout from one in every of France’s most high-profile company battles. A latest twist got here from a lawsuit filed in March in Washington, DC, wherein Puech was accused of failing to ship the $US16 billion of Hermès shares as a part of a sale settlement. His lawyer mentioned his shopper was not concerned within the deal.
Greater than a decade in the past Bernard Arnault, luxurious items rival and founding father of conglomerate LVMH, revealed he had stealthily amassed a stake in Hermès. Descendants controlling Hermès got here collectively and efficiently fought the unwelcome advance.
The dispute over Puech’s stake in Hermes was one of the crucial enduring mysteries within the fallout from one in every of France’s most high-profile company battles.Credit score: Bloomberg
The destiny of Puech’s shares was by no means clarified even after Arnault’s 2014 settlement with the Hermès clan to begin unwinding his stake. The enigma deepened in 2023, when Puech accused Freymond of mishandling his holdings.
The Hermès clan, which counts greater than 100 members, is one in every of Europe’s richest households. Ought to Switzerland-based Puech nonetheless maintain his stake, he can be the only largest investor within the purveyor of Birkin purses and vibrant silk scarves that was based in 1837.
