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Kim Kardashian’s emotional May 2025 testimony about being bound, gagged, and robbed of $9 million in jewelry and the subsequent conviction of most involved has revealed critical lessons for more than just high-net-worth individuals about the safety of themselves and their valuables.
With banks and stores becoming more secure and holding less cash, criminals are increasingly targeting individuals directly, making personal security an even more important part of wealth management.
Key Takeaways
- High-profile heists show that displaying wealth publicly creates vulnerabilities that criminals exploit.
- Security strategies aren’t just for celebrities like Kardashian. These include documenting valuable possessions, maintaining the right insurance coverage, and being cautious about displaying anything about your bling online.
The “Grandpa Robbers” and Their High-Stakes Crime
Eight out of 12 of those dubbed the “papys braqueurs” (“grandpa robbers”) by French media were convicted in the May 2025 trial in Paris, while the court cleared two others, including the brother of Kardashian’s driver, who was accused of providing insider information.
Their ages ranged from 60s to 80s, and presiding judge David De Pas cited their advanced age and health issues among his reasons for leniency in their sentences, which ranged from three to eight years in prison, far less than prosecutors called for. Given that most sentences were suspended, none will return to prison after time already served.
The violent attack took place during Paris Fashion Week in 2016 when five men disguised as police overpowered a watchman to access Kardashian’s hotel room, where they bound and held her at gunpoint. One defendant, 72-year-old Yunice Abbas, brazenly published a book titled “I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian.”
“I absolutely thought I was going to die,” Kardashian testified. “I have babies,” she recalled telling the robbers. “I have to make it home. They can take everything. I just have to make it home.”
The robbers made off with about €9 million ($9 million) worth of jewelry, including a 20-carat diamond ring, in what experts agree was a sophisticated and well-planned robbery.
Tip
No crime goes off like in the movies: Abbas got a flat tire during the escape, fell from his bicycle, and dropped a $40,000 cross, later recovered by police—an incident that helped lead to his arrest. He also nearly revealed himself to a patrol car when he was startled to see singer Tracey Chapman calling Kardashian’s stolen phone.
The Changing Nature of Financial Crime
The Kardashian heist is part of a pivotal shift in how professional criminals target wealth. After the robbery, Paris Police Chief Christian Sainte explained to Vanity Fair that criminals are running out of traditional targets. Banks have become far more secure, and there’s less money there and in store safes, too. “So the professionals have a solution: attack the person at home or in the street.”
This shift to “home-jacking”—robbing the wealthy in their residences—is increasingly common. As such, criminals have adapted their intelligence gathering from old-school surveillance to tracking social media.
The attackers followed Kardashian’s digital trail—during her Paris stay, she posted 15 Instagram photos to 85 million followers, including a selfie of her 20-carat diamond ring. Criminals have used similar methods to perpetrate so-called “wrench attacks” targeting those known to hold significant amounts of cryptocurrency offline. These violent assaults have included taking the victims hostage, with some having their fingers cut off to compel digital transfers from associates.
Practicing Financial Self-Defense
The Kardashian case demonstrates why specialized insurance coverage is essential for high-value items. Standard homeowners’ policies cap jewelry coverage at $1,000-$2,000. For valuable items, you can add specific coverage or buy a separate policy.
Whether you own high-end physical assets like jewelry or have cryptocurrency in cold storage, you can help protect yourself by doing the following:
- Document your assets with detailed records and photos.
- Be cautious about displaying wealth online or in public places.
- Get the relevant security for the asset, such as home safes for jewelry and multifactor authentication for digital assets.
- Create a security plan, including prevention strategies and responses to potential theft scenarios.
The Bottom Line
As the Kardashian case shows, criminals are increasingly targeting individuals rather than institutions. Kardashian says the experience changed her life—she no longer stores jewelry at home or posts her location in real time.
Despite the trauma and increased security since, Kardashian says it’s given her a better perspective: “There was a lot of me that measured who I was by how much I had. I thought, ‘Oh, I’m worth so much,’” she told Alec Baldwin in a 2018 interview. “That needed to change in me.”
