Gen Z heirs of Hermès founder become millionaires overnight

A distant descendant of the Hermès luxury handbag empire has made his Gen Z children millionaires after handing them shares in the design house.

Wilfried Guerrand, who is related to the company’s founder, Thierry Hermès, gifted $4.2m (£3.2m) worth of shares to his four children: Sixtine, 25, Stanislas, 20, Mathias, 19, and Albane, 18, according to regulatory filings seen by Bloomberg.

Guerrand, who has worked at Hermès since 1995 and is currently the vice president of IT and data for the brand, handed his four children 450 shares each this year, with every one worth €2,164 (£1,822) as of close of trading on Tuesday (3 September).

According to social media, one of Guerrand’s children has pursued a career in luxury fashion management in Paris, having completed internships at brands including Cartier and Chanel. Meanwhile, another of the young heirs has interned with their family at Hermès.

The Hermès dynasty is the richest family in Europe. According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Thierry Hermès has more than 100 direct heirs, who are worth around $170bn (£129bn).

Amid a downturn in demand for luxury fashion, Hermès has thrived comparatively with a 10 per cent uptick in the brand’s share price making the company now worth almost £218bn.

Hermès is known for its exclusivity. The Birkin bag, which is highly coveted by the fashion world, is one of the company’s most recognisable designs. It was first introduced in the mid-1980s and named after English actor and singer Jane Birkin.

Birkin bags sell for anywhere from £9,000 to as much as £150,000 and can be even higher on the re-sale market.

In 2022, a rare Himalayan crocodile hide Birkin was sold for a record of $630,000 (£478,000).

This March, it was reported the brand is facing legal action in California over claims it unlawfully allows only customers with “sufficient purchase history” to buy Birkins.

Two California residents alleged the French luxury house violated antitrust laws by “tying” the sale of one item to the purchase of another.

“Typically, only those consumers who are deemed worthy of purchasing a Birkin handbag will be shown a Birkin handbag (in a private room),” the lawsuit claimed.

Hermes did respond to requests for comment.

Sarah Jessica Parker, who is known for playing the fashionista columnist Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City has previously revealed she even carried a fake Birkin on the show.

Parker said the show’s costume designer, Patricia Field, had a contact at Hermès and had offered to obtain a real Birkin but the actor told her not to worry.

The bag had been intended to hide Paker’s pregnant stomach but failed to fulfil its purpose when it came to filming.

“I was super pregnant; we did our very best,” Parker told Vogue. Look how big that bag is. I mean that bag had one job to do, and it did it very poorly,” she said.

“Maybe if it was a real Hermès bag, it would have done a better job.”