Brad Pitt bought elderly neighbour's home and let him live there rent-free until he died

Brad Pitt made sure he wasn't the only one to benefit from his wealth as he bought the house of his elderly neighbour and allowed him to live there rent-free for the rest of his days.

Earlier this year, Pitt decided to part ways with the property he'd owned for nearly thirty years; a sprawling Los Angeles estate he'd bought for a reported $1.7 million (£1.3m)

Pitt purchased the property in 1994 from actor Cassandra Peterson, but even after leaving the home, Peterson didn't go far.

Instead, she bought a house right next door, and in doing so she was able to see how Pitt expanded on his property over the years.

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In an interview with PEOPLE earlier this year, Peterson explained: "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."

One of the homes at the edge of Pitt's land belonged to an elderly man named John, who was in his 90s when the actor started to expand.

"[Pitt] was very, very kind to the husband," Peterson said. "His wife passed away and the husband, John, lived there."

The actor continued to expand his property portfolio by buying John's house, but he allowed to let John stay in the house for the rest of his life, without ever paying a penny.

Peterson said: "I know that Brad allowed him to live there without paying anything until he died. It was kind of funny because John lived to be 105.

"I imagine Brad was thinking well, you know, he can live there till he dies, which might be any minute now."

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I suppose if Brad Pitt's paying the bills, you might as well make the most of it!

Peterson indicated Pitt's gesture towards John was representative of how she saw him as a whole, saying he was 'always kind and sweet' - not to mention, 'handsome'.

She recalled one occasion where this was particularly apparent to her: "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. He's just so stunningly, stunningly handsome — and nice, to top it off."

Pitt and his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, raised their six children in the home, and it was eventually sold in an off-market deal in March.