Brad Pitt splashed $40-million (about R674-million) on the historic DL James House known as ‘Seaward’ overlooking California’s central coast.
The ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ actor, 58, bought the 1918 house in celebrity hotspot Carmel, and the purchase is thought to be the highest priced property ever sold in the area.
DailyMail.com reported on Wednesday locals are “thrilled to have another big-name celebrity in their midst”, especially after the property has sat empty for years.
Architecture fanatic Pitt is understood to love Craftsman-style homes.
The abode was designed by 20th century architect Charles Sumner Greene for Kansas city businessman Daniel James Jr.
According to The Wall Street Journal, before Pitt, the luxury property was owned since 1999 by Searock, a limited liability company tied to the late Chicago financier Joe Ritchie, a trader and founder of the private investment group Fox River Partners.
Built from locally quarried sandstone and granite from cliffs, the D.L. James pad has arched windows and a tiled Mediterranean-style roof that is dominated by muted terracotta colours.
Its outer walls are said to have been designed to look as if they were growing out of cliffs.
Photographer Alexander Vertikoff, who photographed the property in 1997, said it’s “awfully private” and visitors “can’t just walk in there”.
Pitt already has a $5-million beach house in Goleta, California, which he purchased in 2000 when he married Jennifer Aniston.
The property was last year dangerously close to the Alisal wildfire and has been included in the evacuation warning zone, meaning it is at significant risk from the fire.
Pitt’s reported property purchase comes days after he lost his case against ex-wife Angelina Jolie, 47, for selling her part of the French winery they bought together in 2008 for an estimated $28.3-million.
Since their split in 2016, Pitt has been linked with a string of women including Lykke Li, 35, who lives about three minutes away from the actor in Los Angeles.
He was recently seen larking around with his co-star Joey King, 22, as they promoted their new action film ‘Bullet Train’.