The Epstein files: Hermès CEO clarifies 2013 encounter and subsequent rejections

Paris, France - The chief executive officer of French luxury group Hermès, Axel Dumas, stated on Thursday that Jeffrey Epstein had pushed to meet him in 2013. Epstein went as far as inviting himself to a tour of one of the company's workshops in the Paris region.

"I had only one contact with Jeffrey Epstein, which was in March 2013 during a visit to the Hermès workshops in Pantin, near Paris. He was not on the guest list and joined a group of guests with Woody Allen and his wife without any prior announcement," said Axel Dumas. He was speaking to AFP at a press briefing for the group's 2025 annual results.

A photograph from the Epstein files shows Axel Dumas with American film director Woody Allen and American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"A candid photograph was taken, which he apparently treasured," Axel Dumas noted. "He did indeed have a bad reputation," he added. "Subsequently, he attempted to meet me on three occasions, all of which I declined," the Hermès CEO specified.

AFP reviewed emails from the Epstein files, which were released by the US justice system. The emails, sent by Axel Dumas's assistant, show that the Hermès boss refused several invitations from Jeffrey Epstein.

"Finally, in 2016, he participated in a charity auction and won a lot offered by the house, which was a workshop internship. When we learned he was the winning bidder, we refused and compensated the charity for an equivalent amount," explained Dumas.

"In 2012, Jeffrey Epstein had already asked Hermès to refurbish the interior of his plane, and we refused," stated the luxury group's CEO.

"I cannot tell you exactly what we knew about him, as I do not recall from 13 years ago. However, he already had a detestable reputation," he specified.

"I would add that we were in the midst of the LVMH affair," he stressed. LVMH and Hermès were in conflict at the time after the world's leading luxury group secretly acquired a stake in the leather goods company.

"I was already very suspicious of Eric Freymond's dealings with my uncle, and we did not need a shady financier," he added. Nicolas Puech, Axel Dumas's uncle, had filed a complaint against his former wealth manager, Eric Freymond, who has since passed away. Puech believed the financier had used subtle arrangements to make his shares disappear. An unresolved question is whether these shares were sold to LVMH for its covert stake-building in Hermès. The French financial markets authority (AMF) had previously fined the luxury giant, led by Bernard Arnault, for this action.