There are families that own empires. It is not common, but they exist. The fortunes that accumulate behind commercial brands whose logos travel around the world in different directions sometimes belong to a specific surname. It happens that between the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, many business adventurers, first recipients of industrializationthey launched to open companies in addition to an increase in global investments and the growth of the economy. Many tried their luck and found it.
As it happened Thierry Hermsfounder in 1837 of the French leather goods firm that bears his surname. The most exclusive in the world. Today his empire is in the hands of a fifth generation descendant, Nicolas Puech Hermswho owns 57% of the brand’s shares, making him the largest individual shareholder. His fortune is estimated between 9,400 and 10,400 million euros, value that could buy more than one empire in historical terms.
At 80 years old, the magnate, who feels devotion to Spain and He even owns a farm in Aracena (Huelva)you are presented with a dilemma: He is single and has no children. That is to say, he has no one to leave his incredible inheritance to. This being the case, there are several European media outlets that already point out who the recipient could be. Your gardener.
The adoption of a handyman
The plot, which seems taken from an Agatha Christie novel, finds its particular beneficiary in a former gardener and handyman, according to The Corriere della Sera; and former gardener and maintenance staffdecipher Genve Tribune. The man hiding behind these words is a 51-year-old Moroccan married to a Spanish woman, who has two children and who worked for Puech faithfully and tirelessly. The descendant of the first Herms wants to reward him. And for this he has to adopt it.
It is not trivial or sudden turnaround. Puech’s will was drafted in a document that he himself addressed to his lawyer, signed in October 2022, and in which he emphasized his intentions to put his succession situation in order. with the instructions that must be followed to do so. As the Geneva newspaper has specified, the procedures would already be in process, clarifying that In Switzerland, adopting an adult is not impossible, but it is unusual; As a final result, he would be allowed to inherit at least half of the fortune.
A turn in events
But there is an unexpected twist in the story. Back in 2011, Puech signed a succession pact with the Iscrates Foundation, which combats misinformation through various NGOs that support the journalistic sector. The legal circumstance is the following: This document is more binding than a willwhich would cut the former gardener’s plans for the future in the bud.
Puech, aware of this, wrote last February to the organization to communicate his intentions; and this, in turn, denied knowing of any change in the initial agreement and deeply regretted the public utility activities of the tycoon, which he considers threatened in its sustainability by factors that are completely beyond his control. For the moment, the Geneva newspaper maintains that everything is following its legal course.
In a final turn of events, the organization that stands as an obstacle to the Moroccan acquiring fortune, Isocrates, presents itself as an old acquaintance. It’s not always called that. In its beginnings it was called the Nicolas Puech Foundation, since it was he who promoted its non-profit work. If he were to do so, the gardener, even if he inherited only half the amount, would become, de facto, one of the richest people on the planet. Because there are families that own empires, but there are also empires that survive families.
