An 80-year-old Frenchman, based in Switzerland, has a fortune estimated at 10 billion francs. Single and childless, this member of the Hermès family wants to adopt his handyman, a 51-year-old Moroccan.
With his Hermès share package alone, Nicolas Puech is worth 10 billion francs. This French octogenarian, based in Valais, Switzerland since 1999, plans to adopt a member of his domestic staff, a Moroccan aged… 51 who acts as gardener, orderly and confidant. The billionaire being single and childless, if this adoption procedure is successful, the Moroccan would become his heir.
The relationship of trust between the two men who knew each other in Spain dates back several decades. The Hermès heir is particularly generous with his loyal employee, who started a family with a Spanish woman. The billionaire notably offered him a villa in Montreux, worth around 4 million francs, another property worth around 1.5 million francs in Marrakech, and made him several other donations. This prodigious generosity, revealed by 24 Heures , arouses opposition. The billionaire’s Geneva wealth manager wanted to veto Nicolas Puech’s extraordinary donations. He was fired in 2022. An eponymous foundation of the wealthy octogenarian was supposed to inherit his fortune. But last February, the octogenarian decided to terminate the inheritance pact. He limited himself to announcing his “intention to make other testamentary arrangements”. But the Foundation opposes the cancellation by invoking the law.
Ability to discern
If the adoption of the fifty-year-old Moroccan is confirmed, he will be entitled to at least half of a fortune estimated at 10 billion. According to the Forbes ranking, Nicolas Puech is the seventh richest man in France. According to a relative cited by 24 Heures, the octogenarian is in good physical and mental health. He would thus enjoy his capacity for discernment and his full civil capacity.
