Nicolas Puech
{{Short description|French businessperson}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Nicolas Puech
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| birth_date = {{birth year and age |1943}}
| birth_place = Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
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| occupation = Businessman
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| known for = Owner of 5% of Hermès
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| relations = Thierry Hermès (fifth-generation descendant)
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Nicolas Puech (born 1943) is a French billionaire heir and businessman, a fifth-generation descendant of fashion designer Thierry Hermès. He resigned from the company's supervisory board in 2014, but maintained 5% of Hermès shares. Puech has attempted to sell this stake, but maintains he does not have access to his shares.{{Cite news |last=Livni |first=Ephrat |date=2025-04-09 |title=The Strange Case of an Hermès Heir, an Emir and a Deal Gone Wrong |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/world/europe/hermes-qatar-puech-deal.html |access-date=2025-04-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
Early life
Nicolas Puech was born in 1943 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the son of Francis Puech and Yvonne Hermès.{{cite book|author1=G. Auguste|author2=M. Gutsatz|title=Luxury Talent Management: Leading and Managing a Luxury Brand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vh6MiHriqRYC&pg=PA3|accessdate=26 April 2017|date=28 March 2013|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=978-1-137-27067-2|page=3}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gen-gen.ch/PUECH/Francis/1141888?CheckCookie=1 |title=Profil d'un personnage - Société Genevoise de Généalogie |publisher=Gen-gen.ch |date= |accessdate=26 April 2017}} He is the brother of Bertrand Puech
fr and the cousin of Jean-Louis Dumas.
Personal life
Wealth
In 2023, the Swiss media reported that Puech intended to cancel his inheritance contract with the Isocrates Foundation and leave half of his fortune to his former gardener, who he planned to adopt. The charitable foundation, which Puech founded and served on as board president, formally opposed the annulment.{{cite news |last1=Neate |first1=Rupert |title=Hermès billionaire plans to leave half of fortune to ex-gardener and cut ties with charity |url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/dec/19/hermes-billionaire-plans-to-leave-half-of-fortune-to-ex-gardener-and-cut-ties-with-charity |access-date=December 19, 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=December 19, 2023}}
As per Forbes list of The Richest People In The World, dated 8 March 2024, Puech ranked #121 with a net worth of $15.6 Billion.{{Cite web |title=The Richest People In The World |url=https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/}}
In 2025, Forbes removed him from its billionaire's list because according to Puech, his "fortune has vanished".{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2025/04/01/forbes-39th-annual-worlds-billionaires-list-more-than-3000-worth-16-trillion/|title=Forbes’ 39th Annual World’s Billionaires List: More Than 3,000 Worth $16 Trillion|last=Peterson-Withorn|first=Chase|date=April 1, 2025|work=Forbes}} According to The New York Times, Puech had agreed to sell 6 million Hermès shares to the Qatari royal family, but Peuch had told the Swiss government that his shares had allegedly been taken by a wealth advisor. A related lawsuit was filed against Peuch in the United States.{{Cite news |last=Livni |first=Ephrat |date=2025-04-09 |title=The Strange Case of an Hermès Heir, an Emir and a Deal Gone Wrong |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/world/europe/hermes-qatar-puech-deal.html |access-date=2025-04-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
References
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Category:French businesspeople
Category:French expatriates in Switzerland
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