Hollywood actor Brad Pitt is suing ex-wife Angelina Jolie for selling her share of the Fench vineyard they bought together. Jolie sold her share of the vineyard to Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler. Pitt said that Jolie's decision to sell her share to Shefler has forced him into partnership with "a stranger with poisonous associations and intentions," a BBC report reads.
Shefler owns the Stoli Group, a Luxembourg-based spirits manufacturer. The best-known brand of the company is Stolichnaya vodka. Shefler also owns a rum company Louisiana Spirits Company in the US, tequila company Fabrica de Tequilas Finos in Mexico and wine producer Achaval Ferrer in Argentina.
Shefler, who graduated from the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, established the SPI Group in 1997. He was accused of misappropriation of the alcohol brand Stolichnaya Vodka and was forced to leave Russia. Shefler bought the brand from state-owned VVO Soyuzplodoimport for US$285,000 in 1997. The Russian Supreme court, however, ruled the sale illegal in 2001. Following this, he moved to Latvia, before moving to the UK in 2002. Shefler still owns major factories in Latvia.
The SPI group sells alcohol under 380 brands in 170 countries. The conglomerate also develops property projects and has around 5,600 hectares of agricultural land. The group's wine estate division, established in 2007 is called Tenute del Mondo Group.
54-year-old Shefler is married to Russian Victorias Secret model Tatiana Kovylina, 40, with whom he has four children.
Shefler used to own Serene one of the largest yachts in the world, which he sold to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for $500 million. He also owns two private jets. He lives in a seven-bedroom mansion in Weybridge, Surrey, which he bought for US$11 million in 2005. He also owns a holiday house in St. Jean Cap Ferrat on the Cote d’Azur.
