Read on FashionNetwork.comHermès Billionaires' Family Office Expands Investment Ambitions with New Offshoot
Krefeld, the secretive family office of the Hermès dynasty, is expanding its investment strategy by creating a new offshoot, Breithorn Holding. This move signals the growing ambitions of Europe's wealthiest family to diversify their vast fortune beyond their iconic luxury brand. With a combined net worth of $186 billion and billions in recent dividends, the family office is quietly building a portfolio of external assets, joining other ultra-wealthy French clans in the family office arena.
The world of ultra-high-net-worth family offices is often shrouded in discretion, and few embody this more than Krefeld, the investment vehicle for the descendants of the Hermès luxury empire. A recent corporate filing reveals a significant strategic shift: the three-year-old family office has quietly established a new company, Breithorn Holding, specifically designed to oversee fund and asset management. This move, as reported by Bloomberg, marks a clear intent by Europe's wealthiest clan to systematically grow their investment portfolio beyond the confines of their legendary fashion house, Hermès International SCA.
The Genesis and Strategy of Krefeld
Krefeld was formed in 2022, born from a unifying impulse among the sprawling Hermès dynasty. In the wake of successfully fending off a hostile takeover attempt by LVMH's Bernard Arnault in 2010, the numerous heirs decided to consolidate their disparate personal investment vehicles into a single, more powerful entity. Named after the German town where founder Thierry Hermès was born, Krefeld's creation was a strategic move to pool resources and manage the family's colossal personal wealth with greater cohesion and focus. Reflecting the family's renowned penchant for privacy, the office has operated with extreme secrecy regarding its operations, management, and overall strategy since its inception.
Breithorn Holding: A New Chapter
The establishment of Breithorn Holding represents the next phase in Krefeld's evolution. This separate legal entity, based at the same central Paris address as Krefeld, will be led by Charles-Henri Chaliac, the 49-year-old CEO of the main family office. The creation of a dedicated fund and asset management arm suggests a more formalized and potentially aggressive approach to external investments. It provides a structured vehicle through which the family can deploy capital into a wider array of opportunities, from private equity and venture capital to real estate and other alternative assets.
Financial Firepower and Investment Activity
The Hermès family possesses staggering resources to fuel Krefeld's ambitions. The more than 100 heirs have a combined net worth of approximately $186 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, cementing their status as Europe's richest family. Their roughly 67% stake in the publicly traded Hermès has been a tremendous source of liquidity; over the past four years of record-breaking performance, the family has received €5.1 billion ($5.9 billion) in dividends alone. This provides Krefeld with immense firepower for new investments. To date, the family office has been selective and quiet about its deals. Known investments include a stake in French insurer Albingia and a minority position in Anjac Health & Beauty, acquired alongside global investment firm KKR & Co.
The Broader Landscape of French Family Offices
With Krefeld, the Hermès dynasty joins an elite circle of ultra-wealthy French families who manage their fortunes through dedicated offices. This club includes Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the L'Oréal heiress, who operates through Tethys; the Wertheimer brothers, owners of Chanel, who use Mousse Partners; and Bernard Arnault himself, who invests through entities like Agache. The move into more structured external investing aligns Krefeld with the strategies of its peers, who all seek to diversify wealth, generate returns, and secure legacies beyond their core operating businesses.
Governance and Secrecy
The internal structure of Krefeld is carefully guarded and exclusive. The family office has raised its maximum authorized capital to €1 billion, and its statutes explicitly restrict shareholders to direct descendants of Emile Maurice Hermès, who was instrumental in expanding the business in the early 20th century. The board is chaired by Matthieu Dumas and includes heirs from various family branches, with surnames like Bauer, de Seynes, Guerrand, and Mommeja. The hiring of Charles-Henri Chaliac from Belgian private equity firm Cobepa and Claire Zeng from Morgan Stanley indicates a professionalization of the office's investment capabilities, blending deep family roots with external financial expertise.
In conclusion, the launch of Breithorn Holding by the Hermès family's Krefeld office is a significant but characteristically quiet signal of expansion. It underscores a strategic pivot from merely preserving a legendary luxury fortune to actively growing it through diversified investments. As one of the world's most secretive and wealthy family offices builds its external portfolio, the financial world will be watching closely for any rare glimpses into its next moves, all while the family maintains the discretion that has long been a hallmark of its success.
