Brad Pitt, at the time still in a relationship with Angelina Jolie, made his dream of having a castle in the Var come true in 2008. Since then, crazy about his Provençal estatethe actor has a series of projects and the colossal expenses… As our colleagues from Nice morning in their December 5 edition, the actor notably had a swimming pool and an outbuilding built there for no less than 5 million, while piloting the renovation of luxurious studios… In conflict with his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, and the oligarch Yuri Scheffler, who bought the actress’s shares in 2021, Brad Pitt is also faced with another problem: the numerous questions from the French tax authorities! Quoting the investigative media L’Informé, Nice morning explain that French tax authorities suspect the American actor of having reduced the value of his property by more than 21 million – a maneuver which would aim to pay less taxes…
In fact, at the time of its purchase, the value of the Miraval estate was estimated at 25 million. After a first wave of (numerous) works, its value had almost doubled, reaching 45 million euros. However, in 2014, the year of the marriage of the two co-owners, surprise: the property had suddenly been declared as no longer worth more than 25.7 million! In 2002, an expert report put the value of the Miraval estate at between 65 and 70 million euros. Enough to annoy Yuri Scheffler, who paid 67 million for half of the shares in the property! Worse still, it turns out that Brad Pitt’s lawyers, in ancillary proceedings, did indeed estimate the value of the property at more than 140 million euros. In these conditions, it is hardly surprising that the tax authorities requested – and obtained – a tax adjustment procedure, which could undermine Brad Pitt’s beautiful plan to retire in Miraval…
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Disastrous management?
These strange (and colossal) disparities are therefore the subject of careful examination by the tax authorities – but not only. The new co-owner of the estate, Russian-Swiss businessman Yuri Scheffler, has also launched various proceedings before the French courts, demanding to know the precise details of the lavish expenses incurred by Brad Pitt, and the exact income generated by the company. Château Miraval SA which, among other things, manages the wine estate and the rental of the premises. In particular, the oligarch questioned the lack of dividends from a company with apparently flourishing activity… According to L’Informed, a bailiff was dispatched to the site in March 2022, and numerous documents were reportedly seized. Will Brad Pitt end up being forced to sell his shares in the Miraval estate, to reimburse the taxman and the partner he did everything to get rid of? Only the future will tell us…
Article written with the collaboration of 6Medias
Photo credits: Zuma Press/Bestimage