Imagine you are the heir to a prestigious French luxury empire, living in a wealthy ski village in the Swiss Alps, spending your days caring for your beloved horses and enjoying the tranquility of the mountains.
Until one day, you are struck by the shocking realization that 6 million shares of ancestral stock worth $15 billion (approximately SGD 19 billion) have vanished, leaving your bank account with only €600,000 (approximately SGD 900,000) and a pile of illiquid assets that cannot be sold. Looking up, you find that even the house you live in no longer belongs to you.
What does SGD 19 billion mean?
It is roughly equivalent to the market capitalization of any one of Singapore Airlines (SIA), Wilmar International, or Nippon Paint, and it is wealth that an ordinary person would need to spend SGD 100,000 every day for 520 years to exhaust.
The plot sounds like a movie, but it is the true experience of 82-year-old Hermès heir Nicolas Puech.
<h3>From Billionaire to &#34;Having Nothing&#34;</h3>
He is the fifth-generation heir of Hermès founder Thierry Hermès, originally holding about 6% of Hermès shares, making him the largest individual shareholder of the group.
Last year, he ranked 121st on Forbes' global billionaire list; this year, however, he has become the protagonist of a bizarre financial case that has attracted global attention.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://dss0.zbstatic5.com/s3fs-public/articles/2025/12/14/FILES-COMBO-FRANCE-FASHION-AUCTION-HERMES-BIRKIN-141749.jpg/query-MTAyMQ?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://dss0.zbstatic5.com/s3fs-public/articles/2025/12/14/FILES-COMBO-FRANCE-FASHION-AUCTION-HERMES-BIRKIN-141749.jpg/query-MTAyMQ"/>
The Hermès &#34;Birkin bag&#34; is named after the Anglo-French actress and singer Jane Birkin. The right image shows her with this bag on May 9, 1990. On December 5 of this year, Sotheby’s auctioned a platinum bag that once belonged to Jane Birkin in Abu Dhabi, selling for €2.45 million (approximately SGD 3.71 million). (AFP)
For nearly 30 years, he trusted his financial manager Eric Freymond to the extent of &#34;signing blindly.&#34; It wasn't until three years ago when his gardener's wife informed him that a €1 million tip he had given had not been received that this decades-long &#34;magic show&#34; was exposed.
Puech suspects that the stock was &#34;secretly bought&#34; by his old rival LVMH, and in May of this year, he filed a lawsuit against LVMH and its chairman Bernard Arnault, demanding its return. Last week, the other party strongly denied the allegations publicly and reserved the right to sue Puech for defamation.
In July of this year, Freymond committed suicide during the investigation, and many key details subsequently became unprovable
Even more absurdly, this case also involves a fund supported by the Qatari royal family being misled into buying stocks that no longer existed under Puyiqi's name. In April of this year, the fund sued Puyiqi in the United States, seeking $1.3 billion in damages.
According to reports, due to nearly depleted liquidity, Puyiqi now has to rely on financial assistance from relatives to get by and can only choose budget airlines for travel.
If you think this is just a personal tragedy of a wealthy fifth-generation individual being taken advantage of by those around him, and that it has nothing to do with you and me far away in Asia, then you are thinking too simply.
<h3>Lack of Approval Authority and Separation of Duties Leads to $74 Million Misappropriation by Family Office Employees</h3>
Turning our attention to Singapore, a new wealth center in Asia.
Earlier this year, a Chinese billionaire, Zhong Renhai, had $74 million of assets from his local family office misappropriated by employees in an &#34;ant moving&#34; manner, which also attracted attention.
According to the ruling documents from the High Court, four former family office employees fabricated transaction projects and forged reimbursement documents to transfer family office funds under the guise of reimbursements or payments to entities they controlled. In March of this year, the court ruled to maintain a global asset freeze order and ownership injunction against the former employees involved and the entities they established, prohibiting them from transferring or disposing of the relevant assets.
The two cases differ significantly in methods, amounts, and outcomes, but they share astonishing similarities in their root causes of victimization.
Industry insiders analyze that the family offices of Chinese billionaires likely did not establish basic Financial Approval Limits (FAL) and did not implement Segregation of Duties, allowing employees excessive control over fund movements and lacking third-party oversight. Although specific details have not been disclosed, legal actions were only initiated after a significant amount of funds had been lost, indicating a long period of unawareness.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://dss0.zbstatic5.com/s3fs-public/articles/2025/12/14/2025041092400933ryn8750.jpg/query-MTAyMQ?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://dss0.zbstatic5.com/s3fs-public/articles/2025/12/14/2025041092400933ryn8750.jpg/query-MTAyMQ"/>
In recent years, Singapore has attracted a large number of wealthy individuals to establish family offices, with the number exceeding 2,000 by the end of 2024, a significant increase from 1,400 a year earlier. Industry players note that there will always be bad apples in every industry and express concerns about the qualifications of some practitioners. (Photo by Zhang Junjie)
<h3>Emotional Vulnerabilities are Also Asset Vulnerabilities</h3>
Puyiqi essentially replaced institutional trust with personal trust, granting Fremont full authority, leaving his personal wealth management in a fatal vacuum.
This is also one of the reasons he lost the lawsuit against Fremont in Switzerland. The local judge believed that as an adult, he failed to provide conclusive evidence that he was defrauded rather than voluntarily transferring bank account and signing authority.
However, what the judgment cannot quantify is that Puyiqi has no children and has been isolated for a long time, allowing those with ulterior motives to take advantage of him.
This inevitably brings to mind the sensational case of former Chinese tour guide Yang Yin that shocked Singapore and beyond eleven years ago
<h3>Yang Yin Exploits Elderly Woman's Emotional Weakness to Attempt to Seize 40 Million Yuan Inheritance</h3>
Years ago, widowed elderly woman Zhong Qingchun, left with no one to rely on, met tour guide Yang Yin during a trip. The latter took advantage of the elderly woman's emotional void, crossing oceans with his wife and children to move into Zhong Qingchun's home, effectively taking over her residence. He attempted to seize her approximately 40 million yuan estate by obtaining a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).
Fortunately, Zhong Qingchun's niece, Mo Cuiling, intervened in time, sending Yang Yin to prison through legal means and successfully reclaiming the mansion, allowing Zhong Qingchun to enjoy her later years in peace.
It was disclosed earlier this month that Zhong Qingchun passed away at the age of 98 in October this year, and the mansion located in Yangcuo Port was ultimately sold for 22 million yuan, bringing a definitive end to this once highly publicized case of encroachment.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://dss0.zbstatic5.com/s3fs-public/articles/2025/12/14/2025120228228098bang1160.jpg/query-MTAyMQ?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://dss0.zbstatic5.com/s3fs-public/articles/2025/12/14/2025120228228098bang1160.jpg/query-MTAyMQ"/>
This villa on Sunset Passage in Yangcuo Port was purchased by a developer for 22 million yuan just four months before Zhong Qingchun's passing. The villa appears to be in disrepair, with the iron gate covered in rust. The plants inside seem to have been neglected for a long time, with many branches and leaves sprawling out of the walls. (Photo by Wu Xianbang)
<h3>What Does This Have to Do with Ordinary People?</h3>
From the non-working old money in Europe to the busy Asian tycoons making money, and to the empty-nest elderly in mansions, these cases remind us that it is often not market crashes that destroy immense wealth, but the greed and vulnerabilities inherent in human nature.
Markets fluctuate, assets depreciate, but what can truly leave someone with nothing may be that seemingly innocent yet not-so-innocent phrase, &#34;I trusted him too much.&#34;
Some may feel that with Puyiqi losing 19 billion yuan, and we not even having 1.9 million yuan, this story feels too distant. However, as global wealth accelerates towards Asia, especially Singapore, these stories are not mere curiosities but cautionary tales that every person with a certain level of assets should heed.
Moreover, being &#34;cut down&#34; is not exclusive to the wealthy. Puyiqi lost 19 billion yuan, and Zhong Qingchun nearly lost her peaceful later years; for most people, the amounts we can lose may be much smaller, but once lost, the consequences can be equally painful.
Ordinary people may not need family offices and trusts, but at the very least, they should remember a few principles: large sums of money should not be decided by one person alone, those managing money and those reconciling accounts should be separate, significant financial decisions should not be made alone when emotionally vulnerable, and financial instructions should be clearly documented and followed.
Ultimately, wealth management is risk management; and one of the biggest risks is treating trust as a necessity while viewing systems as luxuries.
When risks materialize, what truly matters is not how much one once had, but how much one can ultimately retain

HESAY

Hermès' fifth-generation heir Nicolas Puech has become the focus of a globally watched financial case due to the loss of $15 billion in stock. He has transformed from a billionaire to nearly having nothing, with depleted liquidity, and can only choose budget airlines for travel. This incident reveals the fragility of wealth and its significant impact on personal life

Shen Yue: The heir of Hermès was "harvested" for 19 billion yuan revelations | Lianhe Zaobao