And according to Peterson, the person who benefited was simply an elderly man who had lived there.
The remarkable history of Pitt's Los Feliz compound
The property itself eventually became an important part of Pitt's personal history.
Architectural Digest reported that Pitt purchased the original 1910 Craftsman-style property from Peterson for approximately $1.7 million in 1994 and spent years renovating and expanding it. Peterson later moved into a nearby home and remained close enough to observe the changes.
The compound became associated with Pitt's family life.
It was where he and Jolie raised their children for a period of their lives.
The estate also included extensive grounds and recreational features, reflecting the enormous scale that the property eventually reached.
But despite all the attention given to the architecture, the size and the price, the story of John provides a very different way of looking at the compound.
One of its most memorable residents was not a celebrity.
He was an elderly widower who apparently continued living there long after Pitt acquired the property.
The sale of the estate
Pitt eventually sold the Los Feliz property after nearly three decades.
Reports at the time put the sale price at around $40 million, although published figures varied depending on the source and reporting. PEOPLE reported that Pitt sold the longtime home in March 2023 for approximately $40 million.
Architectural Digest, meanwhile, reported a sale figure of approximately $33 million to oil heiress Aileen Getty.
The differing figures are a reminder that celebrity real estate transactions can be reported differently depending on whether the figure reflects the headline price, a reported off-market transaction or later documentation.
But the broader fact is clear: Pitt eventually parted with the property after almost 30 years.
By then, the compound had become one of the actor's best-known real estate holdings.
And the story of John had already become part of its history.
What happened to John?
Public information about John is extremely limited.
That is understandable.
He was not a celebrity.
He apparently did not seek publicity.
And the story became public only because Peterson mentioned him years later.
There are no widely reported interviews with John himself explaining how he felt about the arrangement.
There are no detailed public accounts of his daily life during those years.
That lack of information should not be filled with speculation.
What we do know, according to Peterson's account, is that John was a widower, that he lived in the property Pitt acquired, that Pitt allowed him to remain without paying rent, and that John ultimately lived to 105.
Sometimes the most respectful way to tell a story is to acknowledge what remains unknown.
Why the story continues to resonate
The reason this story continues to circulate is probably not the size of Pitt's fortune.
It is the simplicity of the choice.
An elderly person was facing a potentially disruptive change.
The new owner apparently had the power to make the situation difficult.
Instead, he made it easier.
That is a universal story.
It does not require Hollywood.
It does not require millions of dollars.
It does not even require a mansion.
Every neighborhood has older residents who fear losing the homes they have known for decades.
Every community has people who would benefit from someone saying, "You don't have to leave."
In Pitt's case, the circumstances were unusually dramatic because the new owner was one of the most famous actors in the world and the property eventually became a multimillion-dollar estate.
But the underlying gesture is ordinary in the best possible sense.
It is neighborly.
A story worth telling carefully
There is also a lesson in how celebrity stories should be reported.
The most compelling version is not necessarily the most exaggerated version.
The verified account is already beautiful.