Is Angelina Jolie Entitled to Profit From Pitt's Studios? Expert Weighs In

As Brad Pitt's business endeavors expand to include his newly rebuilt Miraval Studios in the South of France, his bitter legal battle with ex-wife Angelina Jolie continues to cast a shadow.

In an interview with Billboard, which was published on Friday, Pitt, 58, unveiled the recording studios on the grounds of Château Miraval, the 1,000-acre winery and estate he owns in Correns, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.

Pitt said that he had been eager to reopen the studio space on the grounds ever since he started vacationing at the estate in 2008. At the time, he was in a relationship with Angelina Jolie, 47, and the then-couple purchased the property for a reported $60 million in 2012.

Château Miraval is where they wed and vacationed with their family. Jolie reportedly sold her 50 percent share in the winery to the Stoli Group-owned company Tenute del Mondo in October 2021.

In a court filing on October 4, Jolie stated that negotiations for the winery broke down after Pitt requested she sign a nondisclosure agreement "that would have contractually prohibited her from speaking outside of court about Pitt's physical and emotional abuse of her and their children."

The complaint went on to describe alleged abuse that Jolie and their children endured during a flight from France to Los Angeles in 2016, a confrontation that has long been speculated to be the collapse of their marriage.

With the reopening of the studios, a functioning winery, and Pitt announcing the launch of a genderless skincare line in September, based on antioxidant-rich grapes from the estate's grounds, much appears to be at stake.

Jolie filed a $250 million lawsuit against Pitt over the French property in September, accusing her ex-husband of making a move to "seize control" of the estate, "in retaliation" for their contentious "divorce and custody proceedings."

According to the suit, both stars invested tens of millions of dollars in improving and upgrading the estate, though it goes on to accuse Pitt of squandering a fortune of the company's resources on "vanity projects."

Among the so-called "vanity projects" mentioned in the suit are the recording studios and a swimming pool, on which more than $1 million was spent. In Billboard's Pitt article, a 115-foot saltwater pool behind the studios is shown, but it has not been specified whether this is the one in question.

Given the ongoing legal battle, would Angelina Jolie be entitled to any profits that Pitt stands to make from his latest ventures on the estate she once co-owned?

Arthur Ettinger, head of the matrimonial and family law department at New York-based entertainment law firm, Salzano Ettinger Lampert & Wilson, LLP, told Newsweek that it is unlikely.

Ettinger says that, typically, income and profits from a business, post-divorce filing, are not shared, and Jolie filed in 2016, citing "irreconcilable differences."

"Here, the situation is a bit different as both Pitt and Jolie each owned a 50 percent interest in the property," Ettinger said. "Since Jolie has sold her interest in the Miraval property, it is doubtful that Pitt would be required to pay her for any future profits."

While the Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-stars, who tied the knot in 2014, were declared divorced in 2019, they have since been battling over such factors as custody of their children and Jolie's sale of her shares of their wine business in France.

Pitt said in documents filed on June 3 at the Los Angeles County Superior Court that Jolie intentionally "sought to inflict harm on" him by selling off her interests, as he claims they had agreed never to sell their shares in the company without first seeking the consent of the other.

According to People, Pitt has said that he grew the winery "into a multimillion-dollar global business and one of the world's most highly regarded producers of rosé wine," while accusing Jolie of contributing "nothing to Miraval's success."

According to Pitt's filing, Tenute del Mondo is "indirectly owned and controlled by Yuri Shefler, the Russian billionaire who controls the Stoli Group." Pitt has said that the company is "bent on taking control of Miraval."

Pitt said that Jolie's company, Nouvel, owed his business, Mondo Bongo, the right of first refusal ahead of the sale, and he is now seeking damages "in an amount to be proven at trial" and wants the sale to be declared "null and void." Pitt is seeking a trial by jury against Jolie.

In court documents, Pitt's legal team has accused Shefler of launching a hostile takeover of Miraval and trying to obtain "confidential and proprietary information for the benefit of his competing enterprise."

The team said: "Jolie has sought to force Pitt into partnership with a stranger, and worse yet, a stranger with poisonous associations and intentions."

Newsweek has reached out to representatives of Jolie and Pitt for comment.