Hermès’ Wilfried Guerrand is turning Gen Z kids into overnight millionaires

Wilfried Guerrand sits on Hermès’ executive committee, based in Paris, acting as managing director for trades (which loosely translates to commerce), IT and data.

He is also a distant descendant of an arm of the Hermès dynasty, and this year gifted 450 shares to each of his four children: Sistine, 25, Stanislas, 20, Mathias, 19, and Albane , 18, according to regulatory filings seen by Bloomberg.

Over the past five years, the share price of Hermès International – which makes famously coveted handbags including the Birkin and Kelly – has risen 226% to more than €2,000 per share at the time of writing.

This means that the total value of the shares donated to Guerrand’s descendants is just 3.9 million euros ($4.3 million).

As a result, the Gen Z quartet became millionaires within months, thanks to their father’s donation.

Guerrand first joined Hermès almost 30 years ago after studying at Neoma Business School, the London School of Economics and NYU Stern.

He was given the reins of Hermès Femme — the women’s collections — in 2012 and now leads the brands envied specialists in ready-to-wear, silks, jewelery and fashion accessories, as well as overseeing IT and data.

According to exchange documents seen by Bloomberg, Guarrand owned 10,147 Hermès shares at the end of last year, meaning he has assets worth more than 21.6 million euros ($23.9 million).

The Hermès brand – launched by harness maker Thierry Hermès in the late 1830s – now spans three notable family names, with more than 100 people in its lineage.

The three surnames are Dumas, Guerrand and Puech – the latter counting Nicolas Puech among its members.

Puech was appreciated by Forbes in 2024 at $13.6 billion and made headlines when he announced he wanted to give his fortune to his gardener.

Puech has since launched legal proceedings against his former wealth manager after Puech claimed the money had disappeared and he didn’t know where to turn.

While Puech is one family member who has distanced himself from the Hermès brand, other descendants still run the business.

Executive Chairman Axel Dumas is a sixth-generation member of the family that founded the fashion house and has held the position since 2013.

Hermès did not immediately respond Of luck request for comment.

luxury dynasties of Europe

The Hermès family and its extensive branches – estimated at 151 billion dollars – are not a unique case in Europe.

In fact, a significant group of the continent’s Gen Z and Millennial baby billionaires inherited their wealth thanks to the world of fashion.

For example, three of the six Del Vecchio children appeared on Forbes2024 billionaires list: 19-year-old Clemente, 22-year-old Luca and 28-year-old Leonardo.

Each is worth $4.7 billion thanks to a 12.5 percent stake in the Delfin holding company, run by their late father Leonardo del Vecchio senior.

Germany is also home to 29-year-old Sophie Luise Fielmann and her $2.7 billion fortune – who first appeared on the list thanks to her majority stake in her father’s eyewear business Fielmann AG.

The success of Hermès

Unlike many of its competitors, Hermès continued to perform despite a general decline in demand for luxury goods.

In it The six-monthly report of June, the brand announced revenues of €7.5 billion, up 15% at constant exchange rates.

Demand from the regions showed “remarkable momentum” despite the “challenging context”, Hermès added, with the exception of Asia, where demand from China declined.

Sales in Japan, Europe and America continued to be “robust”.

“The solid results in the first half, in a more complex economic and geopolitical context, reflect the strength of the Hermès model,” said Dumas. “The group has confidence in the future and continues to invest, continue its vertical integration projects and create new jobs, while staying true to its values.”

The narrative is at odds with other luxury brands, which, in addition to seeing a decline in demand in China, it also blames a lack of consumer confidence for declining sales.

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