5 headline-making Hermès Birkin handbag robberies: from Paris Hilton’s Bling Ring losses that also included Dior and Louis Vuitton bags, to RHOBH’s Kyle Richards and a hospitalised Saudi princess
As an unwavering status symbol and a bucket-list addition to any wardrobe, the bag sees long waiting lists. However, not everyone is willing to wait months to get their hands on this rarest of handbags. Each piece can cost anywhere between US$11,000 and nearly US$400,000 – and they sell like hot cakes as preloved items too.
Birkin burglaries are perhaps inevitable then, and don’t seem to have let up over the decades, much like the craze for the leather tote itself. From royalty to Hollywood A-listers and socialites, several high profile figures have had their Birkins stolen.
1. US$1 million worth of Hermès bags stolen from an Australian home
With every collection of expensive bags comes a great responsibility to keep them safe. But when criminals are calculated in their means of attaining them, there’s little one can do. In 2015, thieves broke into an upscale Melbourne home while the owners were on holiday and made off with scores of bags, Australian newspaper The Age reported at the time.
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The US$1 million Hermès handbag collection comprised 30 bags, including Birkins made of crocodile skin and ostrich – the likes of which usually cost north of US$200,000.
2. A former multimillionaire stole his sister’s precious Birkin collection
So precious are Hermès bags that British former multimillionaire Stephen Humberstone stole three of his sister’s luxury handbags to force her out of his mansion in 2010 during a bitter family feud, according to The Independent.
The report stated that there were two Birkins and one Kelly bag taken in the theft. Not only did his sister call the police, but she also got her sibling arrested and charged.
3. Robbers stole Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richard’s entire handbag collection
Acquiring a Birkin collection is considered an investment. It takes many years and a lot of money, and RHOBH’s Kyle Richards was one of the lucky few who was able to amass one of the most impressive and desirable collections of Birkins out there.
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4. Paris Hilton lost many Birkins to the infamous Bling Ring
5. A Saudi princess lost 30 Hermès Birkin bags in a heist at her Paris home
In November 2020, thieves stole US$713,000 worth of goods from the Paris flat of a Saudi princess while she was away, including bags – of which 30 were from Hermès and presumably included Birkins and Kellys – jewellery, a Cartier watch and furs.
The haul was such a blow to the wealthy 47-year old that, according to The Guardian, the princess had to be hospitalised for shock!
- The Hermès Birkin is one of the most covetable luxury handbags on the planet, with many on waiting lists willing to pay tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars for the accessory
- But not all Birkin owners have managed to hold on to them; Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Kyle Richards was robbed of so many of her bags that Kris Jenner is helping her rebuild her collection