Brad Pitt let his 105-year-old neighbor live in his $39 million house rent free until his death

Most of us wonder what it’s like to live like the rich and famous, but very few of us find out.

One 105-year-old man got to experience the A-List lifestyle, by living at Brad Pitt’s $39 million house until he died – completely rent-free! (Yes, you read that right!)

Ironically though, the Mr and Mrs Smith actor driver didn’t intentionally set out to become a landlord when he bought the lavish home back in 1994.

At the time, he paid just $1.7 million when he purchased the property from Elvira star Cassandra Peterson.

Spending the better part of three decades at the residence, Pitt noticed that the area was becoming increasingly built up.

It’s then that he took pity on his elderly neighbour, as Peterson recalled: "I think there were like 22 houses that were contiguous to the edge of the property. And every time they came up he bought one."

According to Peterson, one of those properties belonged to an elderly man in his early nineties and Pitt ended up striking up a deal with him that allowed the senior to stay in their home.

She revealed: "He was very, very kind to the husband. His wife passed away and the husband, John, lived there.

"I know that Brad allowed him to live there without paying anything until he died."

Joking about the fact that the arrangement continued slightly longer than expected, Peterson added: "It was kind of funny because John lived to be 105."

She continued, saying that John 'just kept living forever,' before adding: "I imagine Brad was thinking well, you know, he can live there till he dies, which might be any minute now."

Peterson went on to open up about what it was like being the star's neighbor.

Throughout the years, she described Pitt as 'always kind and sweet', and even opened up about the star's at-home preparation for one of his most iconic roles throughout the years - Tyler Durden from Fight Club.

As the woman was out on a walk with her dogs, she remembered spotting Pitt, and let's just say he had quite an effect on her.

She recalled: "I go past Brad's garage and he's in there wearing only sweatpants. He's got on boxing gloves and he is punching a bag. I swear I almost fainted.

"I remember he goes, 'Hey, how are you?' and I'm like, 'Huh?' I couldn't talk. I was turning red. I felt like I was fainting," the neighbor continued.

"He's just so stunningly, stunningly handsome — and nice, to top it off."

Topics: Celebrity, US News, Brad Pitt, Money

Katherine Sidnell

Katherine is an entertainment journalist with a love of all things nerdy. Starting out writing Doctor Who fan fiction as a kid, she has gone on to interview the likes of Matt Damon, James May and Dua Lipa to name a few. Published in The Sun, The Daily Mail and Evening Standard - she now joins Ladbible as resident nerd in chief.

@ksidnell