Succession: Who are the heirs of the greatest fortunes in the world?

Nicolas Puech is one of the heirs of the Hermès luxury empire. The 2023 'Challenges' ranking stated that it has the 14th largest fortune in France, with assets estimated at around 10 billion euros.

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The 80-year-old Nicolas, single and without children, made a surprising decision: he adopted his domestic worker, a man in his fifties, and made him his heir.

According to 'La Tribune de Genève' which revealed the information, the man would be "from a modest Moroccan family". He could inherit at least half of Nicolas Puech's fortune.

The situation remains uncertain because the fortune was originally to be bequeathed to the Isocrates Foundation. Understandably the foundation has issues with the changes in Nicolas' testament, as they would threaten its "public utility activities." The organization also hinted at "interpersonal conflict and desires of all kinds" to AFP.

The case of the future Hermès succession is an exceptional one. Usually, wealthy families have plenty of possible heirs, and it's actually a puzzle to figure out who's going to get the (most) money! Let's have a look at the main heirs of the world's billionaires.

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How to pass on the family business to your children without compromising its unity? This is the question facing Bernard Arnault, the richest man in France thanks to the fortune of LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennesey).

Father of five children from two different marriages, the businessman has not yet announced his succession. But he has already prepared his children for what comes next.

Born in 1977, his son Antoine Arnault headed the Berluti shoemaker component of the company from 2011 to 2023.  He remains the director of communications, image, and environment at LVMH, and the CEO of Christian Dior SE, the luxury group's holding company.

Antoine stepping down as Berluti CEO in 2023 created some speculation about the inheritance of the LVMH empire, Fortune magazine reports.

Antoine's older sister Delphine has been CEO of the Christian Dior Couture brand since February 2023, after having held several positions at LVMH.

The youngest brother, Alexandre, in his early 30s, is executive vice president in charge of products and communications at Tiffany, acquired by LVMH, after having co-directed the German luxury luggage brand Rimowa.

In Germany, the two children of Karl Albrecht, the founder of the retail giant Aldi, inherited their father's fortune when he died in 2014. Beate Heister and Karl Albrecht junior have a fortune of around 40 billion US dollars between them

In the United Kingdom, the richest noble family is not the royal family but the House of Westminster. At 32, Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, inherited a gigantic real estate empire from his father with assets estimated at £10 billion.

The son of billionaire François Pinault and the husband of Salma Hayek is the CEO of the Kering family group. He is set to inherit his father's fortune. The family assets amount to more than 30 billion euros.

In Spain, Sandra Ortega Mera is the second richest person in the country, behind her father Amancio Ortega, with personal assets estimated at around 6 billion euros. The family owns the Inditex conglomerate, which includes the Zara, Massimo Dutti, and Stradivarius brands.

In Italy, the politician and businessman Silvio Berlusconi left a fortune of more than 6 billion euros when he died in June 2023. The fortune was shared between his five children from two different marriages: Maria Elvira, Pier Silvio, Barbara, Eleonora, and Luigi.

Born in 1966, Berlusconi's eldest child, Maria Elvira, or 'Marina,' (right in the photo) already chairs the family holding company Fininvest. She is credited with the same political ambitions as her father, and looking at her business, she will have the money for a big campaign.

In the United States, Bill Gates intends to leave "only" $10 billion each to his children. A considerable sum, certainly, but which does not represent the majority of his assets. The founder of Microsoft has long declared that he preferred to leave his fortune to charities or NGOs.

Back in France, the brothers Alain and Gérard Wertheimer are the heirs to the Chanel group. They have a fortune of around 100 billion euros. The future of the dynasty is already mapped out since Nathaniel, Alain's son, and his cousin Arthur Heilbronn are gradually gaining power in the family business.

The grandson of Liliane Bettencourt, Jean-Victor Meyers (1986) is already an experienced businessman. Director of L'Oréal since 2012 after replacing his grandmother, he co-founded Exemplaire the same year, a company specializing in the manufacture of leather goods and travel items.

Jean-Victor is the son of Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, the daughter of Liliane and André Bettencourt. She inherited the L'Oréal fortune upon the death of her mother in 2017. With assets of 77.2 billion euros in 2023, she is currently the fourth richest person in France.

After the death of Serge Dassault in 2018 and his son Olivier in 2021, the Dassault aviation group is now in the hands of three heirs: Laurent, Marie-Hélène, and Thierry. Their combined fortune amounts to 32 billion euros in 2023.

Dassault is an emblematic player in armaments and aviation. However, it has diversified its activities by investing in numerous sectors: real estate with Immobilière Dassault, media with the Le Figaro group, and health with the Biomérieux laboratory.

An aviation lover like his father, Olivier Dassault tragically died in a helicopter accident in 2021. At the moment of his death, he was the 9th richest man in France.

Rodolphe Saadé succeeded his father Jacques as the head of the shipowner CMA-CGM. In 2022, his fortune jumped to reach 39 billion euros in 2023. And the billionaire does not intend to stop there, since he entered the capital of Air France to set up a partnership with his shipping company.

Following this example, several other great American fortunes have already announced that they will not bequeath their wealth to their children. We can cite the former basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, the billionaire Warren Buffett, and the actor Jackie Chan.

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