Nicola Bosch, a scion of Europe's richest family, has started the process of adopting his personal gardener and plans to leave at least half of his wealth, amounting to 12 billion euros (13 billion dollars), to the middle-aged gardener. The 80-year-old Bosch, a fifth-generation descendant of the founder of the French luxury goods company Hermès, intends to revoke a contract that would have bequeathed his fortune to the Isocrat Foundation, which he established, making his gardener the legal heir instead.
The Swiss newspapers "Tribune de Genève" and "24 Heures" reported the news earlier this month. The charity opposes Bosch's plan to sever ties with it, stating that it only recently became aware of this decision. They added: "From a legal perspective, revoking the inheritance contract unilaterally appears to be invalid and unfounded... Therefore, the foundation opposes the cancellation of the contract while keeping the door open for discussions with its founder."
Bosch is said to own 5.7% of Hermès, a company renowned for its silk scarves and leather handbags. The post-pandemic surge in demand for luxury goods has valued Hermès at approximately 211 billion euros (230.8 billion dollars), making Bosch’s stake worth about 12 billion euros. Referring to Swiss media reports about Bosch's "desire to adopt his employee," the charity indicated that it was not in a position to "judge this initiative or comment on it," adding that it "leaves it to the relevant authorities to make decisions on this matter."
Reports also indicated that "the inheritance contract between the foundation and Bosch, who is known not to have children, stipulates that he leave his shares in Hermès to the foundation, unless he becomes a father, in which case his child would be entitled to a part of the inheritance."
