Hermes Billionaire’s Charity Fights Plan to Cut Inheritance (1)

Battle lines are hardening in Switzerland’s Valais canton between an aging billionaire heir to Europe’s biggest family fortune and his own charitable foundation.

Nicolas Puech, a reclusive fifth-generation descendant of the founder of French luxury giant Hermes International SCA, wants to cancel his inheritance contract with his Isocrates Foundation, the charity’s press office said in a statement. The organization is publicly contesting the plan to sever ties.

The move comes after Puech, 80, was reported to have begun administrative procedures to adopt his middle-aged gardener to whom he would bequeath at least some of his fortune.

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