However, following their divorce in 2019, Jolie decided she wanted to sever ties with the estate and initiated negotiations with Pitt for a buy-out option. Reportedly, the 47-year-old even agreed to an uneven split, with Pitt receiving 68 percent ownership to her 38 percent, considering his greater investment of money and time into the project.
To Pitt’s surprise, in the summer of 2021, he discovered through a press release that Jolie had sold her 50 percent share to a “Russian oligarch” whom Pitt had previously declined. Pitt accuses his vindictive ex-wife of collaborating secretly with the Russian oligarch, Yuri Shefler, who also owns Stoli Group, in order to keep him uninformed.
The legal filings assert that Jolie terminated negotiations with Pitt intentionally and pretextually, citing the unfavorable custody ruling in which he was initially granted joint custody of their six children (though the decision was later overturned). Pitt claims that Jolie’s actions were unlawful, deliberately causing him severe damage while unjustly enriching herself.
Pitt further alleges that Jolie specifically chose Shefler because she knew it would harm the business due to his association with Vladimir Putin and his controversial actions, such as the invasion of Ukraine and support for homophobic legislation.
With half of the property now sold to a third party, Pitt argues that the original purpose of purchasing Miraval as a loving home for their children has been undermined.
These recent legal filings come nearly nine months after Jolie filed a $250 million counter-suit against Pitt, accusing him of attempting to take control of the French winery to ensure she would never benefit from its substantial profits. Jolie’s suit, brought by her company Nouvel, also alleges that Pitt pressured her to sign a non-disclosure agreement preventing her from discussing their divorce.
In February 2022, Pitt initially filed a lawsuit against Jolie, claiming she deprived him of his right to enjoy his private home and oversee the business he had developed from scratch.
Château Miraval, a 35-room mansion situated in the village of Correns in southeastern France’s Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, features lush gardens, a moat, fountains, aqueducts, a pond, a chapel, and a vineyard. The former couple even held their intimate wedding ceremony at Château Miraval in 2014.