Hermes in ‘League of Their Own' as Family Gets $5 Billion Payout
By and Angelina Rascouet
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The French family behind Hermes International SCA is on track to pocket more than $5 billion in dividends for a series of four record-breaking years, when the maker of pricey leather handbags and silk scarves rode an industry boom and is now defying a slump.
Some 100 heirs to the luxury fortune, who control just over two thirds of Hermes shares, have benefited from rapidly rising payouts including this year's biggest ever. The company reported a jump in fourth-quarter revenue while rivals LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Gucci-owner Kering SA recorded declines.
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