'Russian' Depardieu moves his French winery under Belgian control to save on taxes

French actor Gérard Depardieu, who received a Russian passport in 2013, has transferred virtually all control of his famous French winery, Château de Tigné, to a Belgian holding company. The potential savings on French wealth tax alone could have reached €550,000. French investigators are now trying to establish whether the actor actually lived in Belgium or whether the move existed mainly on paper. Depardieu bought the château and vineyards in Anjou back in 1989. After his high-profile move from France to Belgium, he established HOLDING 2712 in March 2013. In 2014, the actor transferred stakes in nine French companies worth around €12.3 million to the holding, including 79 shares in Château de Tigné. Belgian registry documents confirm the transfer of the 79 shares in the winery company to the holding. By 2026, the Belgian structure effectively controls Château de Tigné. At the same time, the vineyards themselves — covering around 85 hectares — remain owned by French companies. Such a corporate structure is not illegal in itself: for tax authorities, the key question is where Depardieu's center of life and economic interests was actually located.