Hermes Heir’s Ex-Adviser Dies as $16 Billion Legal Fight Endures

An Hermes luxury boutique in Paris.

Photographer: Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg

The former adviser to an Hermès heir has died as a longstanding mystery over the whereabouts of company shares worth some €14 billion ($16 billion) remains unsolved.

Eric Freymond worked for 24 years as a wealth manager to Hermès descendant Nicolas Puech before their relationship soured, leading to a court case in Geneva. The wealthy octogenarian Puech alleged that Freymond had played a role in the disappearance of some 6 million shares in Hermès International SCA that he had inherited.