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Brad Pitt accused of squandering winery cash on swimming pool
Angelina Jolie claims that ex-partner Brad Pitt is “stripping Château Miraval of its assets” by among other things blowing millions of dollars on a swimming pool “that only he uses”.
In the latest court filings in ongoing divorce proceedings between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Jolie’s legal team accuses Pitt of “looting” Château Miraval and turning it into his own “personal piggy bank”.
The Hollywood actress alleges that Pitt “caused millions of its funds to be spent on projects that benefit him personally.”
These projects, court documents claim, include more than US$1 million spent on “renovations for a swimming pool that only he uses.”
Jolie insists that the Fight Club star is intent on “stripping [the rosé producer] of its assets”, and that he also dipped into the winery’s coffers to renovate a run-down recording studio on the property. Award-winning music artist Sade became the first to record at Miraval Studios in 2002, though the facility hosted sessions for Pink Floyd, Sting and The Cranberries before the Jolie-Pitts bought Miraval.
Those close to Pitt say that any suggestion he stole from Miraval are “absurd”.
The couple bought the wine estate for €25 million in 2008, and established the Château Miraval rosé brand with renowned Rhône winemaker Marc Perrin, with the first vintage released to market being Miraval Rosé 2012, Côtes de Provence.
The wine brand generated more than €15m in profits in 2022, according to the court filings.
Business manoeuvre
Last month, Jolie’s legal team further alleged that Pitt has frozen out Uri Shefler’s company Stoli (which bought Jolie’s 50% share of the winery) from running Château Miraval by refusing to appoint neutral directors to the board of the Luxembourg-based entity through which the vineyard operates.
Jolie first filed for divorce in 2016 and the pair are yet to reach a resolution despite an eight year battle.
Pitt continues to launch commercial ventures from the estate, including skin care brand Beau Domaine, which uses grapes sourced from the Provençal château’s grounds in its products. According to Pitt, he enlisted Pierre-Louis Teissedre, Professor or Oenology at the University of Bordeaux, to determine which of the 13 grape varieties grown on the wine estate have the greatest antioxidant properties. The research indicates that grape seeds and skin from Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre top the list, with these making it into Beau Domaine’s Serum, Cream, Fluid Cream and Cleansing Emulsion.
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