Hermes Billionaire to Leave $6 Billion to His Gardener

An Hermès heir’s charitable foundation is crying foul after the luxury tycoon moved to bequeath a major chunk of his $13.2 billion fortune to his gardener, according to a report.

Nicolas Peuch, the 80-year-old black sheep of the French family that founded the fashion house, created a stir earlier this month when he reportedly filed papers to adopt his 51-year-old gardener — with plans to leave as much as half of his vast estate to him, according to reports.

Puech, a reportedly childless recluse who lives in Switzerland, hired a formidable legal team to formalize the gardener’s adoption and revise his estate arrangements, according to reports.

Not much is known about Puech’s ties to the unidentified “gardener and handyman” or how long he has worked for the fifth-generation descendant of Hermès founder Thierry Hermès.

As The Post reported, he has two kids with a wife from Spain and comes from a “modest Moroccan family,” according to the Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve.

However, the philanthropic organization Puech founded in 2011, called the Isocrates Foundation, is battling to halt the cancellation of its own inheritance contract, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The contract reportedly provides for Puech’s estimated 6 million shares in Hermès to be left to the foundation — unless he becomes a father, in which case his child would be entitled to a part of the inheritance, and at least 50% in the case of a son, CNN reported.

“From a legal standpoint, the abrupt and unilateral annulment of a succession agreement appears void and unfounded,” Isocrates said in a statement to Bloomberg.

“The foundation has opposed this move, while leaving the door open to discussion with its founder and president,” it added.

Jörn-Albert Bostelmann, Puech’s lawyer, did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Bostelmann told Bloomberg he may hold a press conference “to separate the fact from the fiction and to dispel some of the nonsense that has been reported in the media.”

The lucky worker stands to inherit a portion of Puech’s fortune, which includes properties in Marrakesh, Morocco and Montreux, Switzerland that are valued at $5.9 million.

Puech, meanwhile, founded Isocrates with an initial donation of $11.5 million. He also reportedly vowed to pass on his immense wealth to the foundation.

A document outlining Isocrates’ statutes says: “Under no circumstances will the assets of the Foundation be returned to the founder, to his heirs or donors.”

Isocrates — which funds public-interest journalism and a “healthy digital public space” — has since moved to distance itself from Bloomberg’s report.

A statement on its website said the foundation “deplores the fact that confidential exchanges have been published without its knowledge or consent.”

“Likewise, the Foundation vigorously condemns any allegation or insinuation relating to the private sphere of the persons mentioned. The Foundation firmly distances itself from the content of these articles and will refrain from further commenting on them.”

The Post has sought comment from Hermès.

Puech’s owns 5.7% stake in Hermes, part of the more than two-thirds of the luxury-goods maker that’s still owned by the founding family. The company is valued at $220 billion.

Puech triggered a family rift in 2014 when he refused to pool his holdings with dozens of other relatives — led by his brother Bertrand Puech — to tighten control over the brand and repel luxury rival LVMH, which acquired a substantial stake in Hermès.

Puech’s departure from the company’s board amid the turmoil signaled irreparable discord with his kin.

“He resigned because he has felt for several years beleaguered by members of his family, who have attacked him on several fronts, not only regarding LVMH,” stated a spokesperson for Puech at the time.

Puech’s unconventional plan faces formidable challenges, navigating complex legal hurdles for an adult adoption, an exceedingly rare occurrence in Switzerland.

Reports suggest requirements for such adoptions demand a prior relationship during the adoptee’s minor years.