From the Hermes heir to Nicolas Cage: Millionaires who went bankrupt Nicolas Puech Hermes is no longer a shareholder at the company he wanted to bequeath to his gardener. Athletes, actors, investors and businesspeople have all experienced financial freefalls, despite how much money they once had in the bank — or, how it got there Having money is not always a guarantee of continued economic success. Though Benjamin Franklin held that “money makes money,” and while it’s true that a larger range of possibilities are open to those who possess funds, like access to financial services and the ability to buy property and live off their tenants’ rent, the rich are also capable of making bad decisions.
Actors, investors, heirs, athletes — as the following list proves, no one is safe when greed, vice or excessive confidence come knocking. Nicolas Puech Hermes first rose to infamy halfway through 2023, when it was announced that the French octogenarian, one of the heirs of the Hermes luxury house, sought to legally adopt his gardener . His intention was to facilitate the employee’s inheritance of his fortune, valued at $13.
4 billion, nearly all of it comprised of six million shares of the company’s stock. That magnanimous gesture towards his staff, however, remained just that — a gesture. In July, Puech’s lawyers revealed to a Swiss court that he was no longer the owner of the Hermes shares.
According to a court order, for 24 years, Puech employed a financial manager.
