“As will be demonstrated at trial, [Angelina] Jolie‘s actions were unlawful, severely and intentionally damaging [Brad] Pitt and unjustly enriching herself,” reads a document filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, obtained by HollywoodLife. This document, the latest volley in the legal war between Brad, 59, and Angelina, 47, claims that Pitt only learned of Jolie selling her share of the Chateau Miraval — a celebrated French vineyard – through a press release. The former couple both agreed never to sell their share without the other’s permission.
The former couple bought the Chateau Miraval, a 35-room estate and vineyard in 2008 for $28.4 million. This vineyard was where Angie and Brad tied the knot in 2014 in a ceremony that included their kids: Maddox, Zahara, Pax, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox. Angie sold her share to Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler, owner of Stolinchnaya (Stoli). Pitt claims that Jolie’s sale ties the Chateau to Russia, along with “its homophobic laws and the invasion of Ukraine,” writes Daily Mail. In a counterclaim, Jolie accused Pitt of spreading lies by claiming Yuri is “an ally of Vladimir Putin.”
HollywoodLife has reached out to both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s camps for comment.
“The only thing that Jolie’s Cross-Complaint gets right is that she and Pitt purchased Château Miraval as a ‘loving home for their six children,” Pitt’s latest legal document says. “As set forth in Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Complaint, Pitt and Jolie had a mutual and binding commitment, reflected by their conduct and statements to one another over time, that they would hold Miraval together and, if the time came, that they would sell their interests separately only with the other’s consent.”
Pitt’s complaint also accuses Anglie, “though supportive of Pitt’s efforts on behalf of the family, did none of the work necessary for Miraval’s success,” per Daily Mail. “Instead, she allowed Pitt to pour money and sweat equity into the business in reliance on her promise to hold Miraval together, as well as the contractual rights her holding company Nouvel owed his. By the time of their separation, Pitt’s investment exceeded Jolie’s by nearly $50 million.”
Towards the end of their marriage, Angelina agreed that dividing up the business from 68% to 32%, in his favor, was a fair move. “But in the summer of 2021, amid a heated child custody dispute with Pitt, Jolie terminated those discussions and secretly purported to sell a 50% stake in the family home and family business to Tenute del Mondo,” reads the document. “Tenute del Mondo is part of the Russia-affiliated spirits conglomerate Stoli Group, which is owned and controlled by billionaire Yuri Shefler. Shefler, who has been designated as an ‘oligarch in the Russian Federation’ by the U.S. Treasury Department, had previously sought to buy Miraval, and Pitt had turned him down.”
“Pitt learned of Jolie’s putative sale to Stoli by way of a press release announcing that Stoli was ‘thrilled to have a position alongside Brad Pitt as curators’ of Miraval rosé,” the document alleges. “That was by design: Jolie collaborated in secret with Shefler and his associates to pursue and then consummate the purported sale, ensuring that Pitt would be kept in the dark as Stoli and Jolie knowingly violated Pitt’s and Mondo Bongo’s contractual rights and forced a stranger into Pitt’s family home.”
Brad and Angie have been trying to untangle their finances since their 2016 split. The winery, and its sale/ownership, remain the biggest issue between the former lovers.