Is this why you got so angry, Russell? How millionaire comedian Brand – who lost his rag when he was asked how much his home cost during Downing St housing protest – ‘lives in trendy Hoxton loft apartment’

 

• .Russell Brand called a reporter 'snide' after asking about his rent  
• .Star is supporting residents of estate near his home who fear being evicted
• .Lost his temper during demonstration outside No 10 Downing Street
• .He said: 'I'm not here to talk about my rent, mate' and called him a 'snide'
• .MailOnline understands he is living in a £5,000-a-month loft flat in Hoxton  
• .Residents he supports fear eviction because of rising rental prices in area 
• .'That estate is down the road from where I live. I care about it', Brand said 
• .Sold his Hampstead house for £2.3m in 2010 and has owned several mansions in Hollywood, including Laurence Olivier's former home 

By MARTIN ROBINSON

Russell Brand lost his temper last night after he was asked how much he pays to rent his London home, which is believed to be a £5,000-a-month bachelor pad.

The comedian, 39, yesterday joined hundreds of tenants from the New Era Estate in east London, who marched on Downing Street because they have been threatened with eviction.

But Mr Brand, who is calling for an anti-capitalist revolution and claims 'profit is a filthy word' despite being worth £9million, called a journalist a 'snide' because he asked the value of his home. 

The star is believed to be currently living in a loft-style home in trendy Hoxton, in a development owned by an offshore firm where properties command rents of £5,000 a month or more.

His home is a mile away from the affordable housing estate he is supporting, where residents currently pay £650 per month but the owners reportedly want them to pay £2,000 - the market rate in that area. 

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Upset: Russell Brand called a journalist a 'snide' after he was asked how much he paid in rent for his London home

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Support: New Era resident Lindsey Garrett, who along with hundreds of others fears eviction, defended Brand for being 'prepared to come out of his big house and help us' - unlike David Cameron

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Home: This is believed to be Russell Brand's rented property in Hoxton, which could be worth up to £1.5m for its owner and would rent for upwards of £5,000 a month

Message: Brand has his own YouTube channel and a number of videos are believed to have been made at his east London apartment, including on its roof terrace, left and right

More than 90 households within The New Era Estate in Hoxton, East London, fear the plan to charge 'market rents' will treble their bills and force them out of the area.

Channel Four News reporter Paraic O'Brien asked Brand whether he was part of London's housing problem with vast swathes of homes being bought up by the super rich or rented for sky-high prices.

BRAND LIVES IN INDUSTRIAL AREA TRANSFORMED INTO THE HOME OF THE RICH, FAMOUS AND ARTISTIC

The Hoxton and Shoreditch areas of east London, where Russell Brand lives, have been transformed into the trendiest area of the capital.

It was decimated by the blitz and became an industrial wasteland and before that in Victorian times it was filled with slums.

But now it is the favoured place for many in new media and art, including Brand, Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst.

Local experts say that in 2007 buyers paid an average of £541 per sq ft for Shoreditch residential compared with in excess of £1,200 per sqft last year. 

Russell Brand is believed to live in a three bedroom loft-style house in a converted Victorian factory in the heart of trendy east London where rents are in excess of £5,000 a month. 

The area is also with walking distance of the City and has become popular with financiers. 

Brand denied this and said: 'It's rented. I'm not here to talk about my rent, mate', before he dragged New Era Estate resident Lindsey Garrett onto the screen to talk about the 'important campaign'.

In an uncomfortable two minute interview with Channel 4 News Mr O'Brien asked why the millionaire repeatedly refused to reveal how much he paid in rent.

Mr Brand said he was 'not the problem I am part of the solution' because he was working to 'amplify the voices of ordinary people'. 

Pointing at Number 10 Downing Street the actor said: 'There is no greater and more expensive piece of real estate in London than that one'.

Mr O'Brien responded with: 'I'd say your house is probably on a par' and Mr Brand said: 'Well it is rented. We don't know the value. You'd have to ask my landlord. Blessedly I can afford my rent and I'm prepared to stand up for people who can't'. 

Protester Ms Garrett was then pulled into shot and said: 'At least Russell Brand is standing up regardless of how big his house is. David Cameron isn't prepared to come out of his big house and help us, but Russell Brand has.'

Ending the interview Brand said 'Let's do one' and told the reporter: 'Snides like you undermine it. You're a snide.'

This morning Mr O'Brien admitted he had received a great deal of abuse from Brand's supporters on Twitter and said: 'Holy God. Reading my timeline from overnight. Looks like come the revolution, we 'snides' are totally f******'. 

Mr Brand lives close to New Era Estate in Hoxton, east London, an area where the average rent is £2,000 a month.

Rent on the New Era Estate will reportedly be raised to the same level, from the current average of £650 a month. 

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Support: Mr Brand lives less than a mile from the estate and says he is using his fame to give them a voice

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Support: Brand marched on Downing Street with hundreds of people from the New Era Estate in east London, who fear they will be forced from their homes after the development was bought by a U.S.-based investor

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Grand: The millionaire reportedly lives here in this loft-style home in trendy Hoxton

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Brand is supporting more than 90 households within The New Era Estate who fear the plan to charge 'market rents' will treble their bills and force them out of the area

BRAND WAS SUPPORTING ESTATE BOUGHT UP BY U.S. INVESTORS 

Russell Brand joined hundreds of London tenants who marched on Downing Street because they fear eviction. 

Residents of the New Era housing project in Hoxton, east London, live in a development originally built as affordable housing for local workers.

But New York-based Westbrook Partners want to raise rents to market levels and Brand has championed the cause of the tenants.

'It's social cleansing,' said Lindsey Garrett, a health care coordinator with the NHS. 'It's forcing ordinary working-class people out of London. It's wrong.' 

Westbrook Partners bought the estate from a family that owned the development since the 1930s. Hackney Council has since been told Westbrook plans to evict the residents while renovations take place. They would be allowed to return if they pay market rates, which would be an estimated three times their present rents.

But the company said that no eviction notices have been sent, nor legal proceedings undertaken.

'Westbrook has told tenants that there will be no changes to their residential leases and no increases in rents during the first half of 2015,' the company said in a statement. 

Brand's home is believed to have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large open plan kitchen, a walk-in wardrobe and a private roof terrace and could be worth as much as £2.7million. 

It is unclear who owns the property, which was bought in March 2007 for £1.25million.

The building is listed on the Land Registry as being owned by KKY PTY ltd, based at the Offshore Incorparting Centre in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands tax haven.

The four storey property boasts a roof terrace with views of the City and was listed for rent for £4,983 a month in March 2012.

At that rate the annual rent would be £59,796 - which is more than twice the average annual salary of a Briton of £26,500.

The comedian says he rents it, having sold his plush Hampstead home in 2010 for just under £2.4million.

While married to singer Katy Perry they bought a £4million LA mansion which they sold at a loss after their divorce.

He then bought an extravagant £1.4million mansion in the Hollywood Hills, which had belonged to Laurence Olivier.

Mr Brand has been promoting his anti-capitalist views since his book Revolution came out last month. He has sold more than 22,000 copies, raking in £230,000.

But he lost his sense of humour about some critical reviews, huffing on Twitter: 'It's weird how highly paid, privately educated journalists who work for the corporate media attack my book Revolution.'

It came after Brand – who has called for an 'orgy' of banker bashing - faced accusations of hypocrisy after it emerged that he raised nearly £1million from wealthy capitalists including investment bankers and a Premier League footballer to make a documentary about himself.

Investors were enticed with generous tax breaks to support the film, portraying Brand as a 'troubled visionary' seeking to change the world.

He was also accused of being a 'champagne socialist' after he joined an anti-capitalism march which caused violence and chaos before heading off to a West End theatre press night attended by a host of celebrities.

In a bizarre interview in October he also sparked fury after revealing he is 'open-minded' about whether the United States was behind the 9/11 attacks.

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Past: Mr Brand sold his Hampstead house for upwards of £2.3million in 2010 and later bought a home in LA

Response: Journalist Paraic O'Brien admitted he had some abusive tweets about his interview

When Mr Davis pressed him about his views he shouted over the presenter: 'Mate, I don't want to follow you down blind alleys about silly administrative quibbles.'

At one point Mr Davis pleaded: 'I'm trying to take you seriously.'

Davis then tried to show the actor a graph showing wage levels in Britain, but he responded: 'I don't want to look at a graph mate, I haven't got time to look at a bloody graph.

'It's a lovely graph mate, well done. This is the kind of thing that people like you use to confuse people like us.' 

To see the whole Channel Four interview click HERE 

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BBC In another bizarre interview in October on Newsnight he also sparked fury after revealing he is 'open-minded' about whether the United States was behind the 9/11 attacks

HOW HARD-UP ESSEX BOY BRAND BATTLED DRUG AND SEX ADDICTION TO MAKE MILLIONS AND BECOME ONE OF BRITAIN'S MOST FAMOUS MEN 

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It is hard to believe that ten years Russell Brand, 39, was almost completely unknown.

But now he is internationally famous and instantly recognisable, and has married or dated some of the world's most famous women.

Brand, an only child from Grays, Essex, was single-handedly brought up by his mother Barbara, after his father Ron walked out when he was six-months-old.

As a teenager he admitted he was a lonely misfit, who suffered mental illness, became overweight and then battled bulimia.

After leaving school and wanting to become an actor after appearing in school production of Bugsy Malone, but his time as drama school ended after he was asked to leave over bad behaviour.

Describing his life at 20 he said: 'I lived on my own in a bedroom in Finsbury Park. I would spend all day eating Weetabix and watching Richard and Judy. I remember thinking, '24 hours have passed and I haven't moved from this spot'. 

But a break led to a job on Channel 4, and fame and fortune followed.

His stories of debauchery have become legendary, and in his autobiography My Booky-Wook he tells stories of numerous encounters with prostitutes - one with enormous breasts 'like bin bags filled with lard' whom he visited during his lunch break when working on a TV series. 

His womanising meant he has been in relationships with huge number of women, including Kate Moss and other famous faces.

But in 2009 Brand met American pop star Katy Perry. Their 2010 wedding in India was immensely grand, involving entrances on elephants and parties under the stars. 

However, within three months he and Perry were reportedly having couple counselling, and in 2012 they divorced.

After a romance with Jemima Khan he now appears to be single and is focussing on his book Revolution and promoting his anti-capitalist ideals.