But isn’t it that Bernard Arnault is behind the disappearing Hermès shares? This is one of three hypotheses advanced by Swiss company Tamedia, which, among other newspapers, controls Tribune de Genève. Tamedia, as well as Glitz.paris and others, have gone on the hunt for the shares that Nicolas Puech, descendant of Thierry Hermès and the maison’s largest individual shareholder with 5.76% of the shares, claims to no longer own. Where did they end up? It is a mystery.
Hermès missing shares
Nicolas Puech, heir to the Hermès fortune and long considered one of the richest men in Europe, will be 82 years old on 29 January 2025. He has no children. Last year he not only said he was broke. But he claimed he no longer owned Hermès shares, and did not know where they had gone. He filed a complaint in Geneva against his former wealth manager, Swiss businessman Eric Freymond, accusing him of embezzlement (but without explaining how he did it, reveals Tamedia’s investigation). So much so that his complaint was dismissed. According to Puech “it is the theft of the century”. At stake are more than 6 million shares, worth around EUR 13.8 billion. They are “bearer” shares, so not even the maison is able to establish who owns them.
Tamedia’s reconstruction
Tamedia claims to have carefully examined “hundreds of pages of legal and financial documents”. It did not find a solution, but developed three hypotheses. The first is that the shares ended up in the hands of Bernard Arnault, who attempted to acquire the historic maison in 2010. Through “underhand deals”, they say, the LVMH patron would have taken possession of the shares, acquiring them without Puech’s knowledge, since he did not manage his assets personally. A rather simple theory, writes Tribune de Genève, but “several elements contradict it”.
The other hypotheses
The second hypothesis, summarises Fashion Network, is that Puech would have sought to shield the shares from any external “attacks” (family members and LVMH). And he would therefore have transferred his shares to a trust in the Bahamas in 2013. There are documents proving the trip Puech made, but not the eventual financial transaction. The third hypothesis is that of “forgetfulness”. That is, Puech would have hidden his Hermès shares so well that he no longer remembers how and, above all, where. The enigma of Puech’s shares has been the subject of numerous journalistic enquiries, but has not yet been solved. “Nicolas Puech’s lawyers have contacted banks, lawyers and asset managers”, including Phidias Gestion, and “we should know more in the coming months”, write Tamedia.
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