Brad Pitt let his elderly neighbor to live rent-free in his $39 million LA home until he died at 105

Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt let a widowed man live on his former LA estate for free. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, "Elvira" actress Cassandra Peterson narrated the story of how Pitt came to share the property. Peterson was the one who sold the estate to the "Bullet Train" actor and lived as his neighbor for a long time. 

An unusual arrangement 

Pitt bought the 1.9-acre Los Feliz, California in 1994 from Peterson. In the interview, the actress opened up about how she sold her home to Pitt, and how he ended up with an unexpected elderly tenant.

The arrangement was made when Pitt started to slowly expand his estate. It was the home where he and his wife at the time, Angelina Jolie, lived with their children. 

Peterson claimed that there were about 22 properties contiguous to the edge of the property and every time a property came up for sale, he would buy it. One such property belonged to an elderly man, John, who was in his 90s. 

Peterson explained that John's wife had passed away and he was living alone at the property. Thus, Pitt made a deal with him under which he would acquire the property but let John live there for free. "I know that Brad allowed him to live there without paying anything until he died," the actress claimed. 

The arrangement went on a bit longer than expected as she claimed that John went up to live at the house until he was 105. Peterson, also shared her own exchanges with the actor throughout the years, describing him as "always kind and sweet."

After living, expanding, and adding to the property for decades, Pitt finally offloaded the California compound for $39 million, last year, the New York Post reported. Following his divorce, Pitt reportedly began looking for a buyer but it was never publicly up for sale.

Over the years, the "Fight Club" actor had made several add-ons to the original Los Feliz property including a skating rink, a swimming pool, a tennis court, a Koi pond, a skate park, a motorcycle garage, a movie theater, and much more. 

Not all property deals were as heartwarming

Pitt has been engaged in a lawsuit with his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie for years, over a property dispute. In 2022, Pitt filed a lawsuit against the "Maleficent" actress over the sale of her shares in a French Winery. Pitt claimed that the two bought Château Miraval in 2008 for $30 million, and had a verbal agreement to never sell their shares without each other's approval.

However, things changed after their divorce and Pitt claims that Jolie acted vindictively after he won the joint custody of their kids. He alleged that Jolie “secretly” sold her share of the French estate to get back at him. As per Page Six, Pitt learned about the sale through a press release.

Pitt alleged that Jolie had sold the 50% stake unlawfully as she had no rightful ownership.  The lawsuit demanded damages “in an amount to be proven at trial." However, In a statement issued by Jolie’s lawyer Paul Murphy, he claimed that Pitt is demanding the $67 million plus punitive damages, Vanity Fair reported.