Heath Ledger's secret mansion unearthed

Melbourne (ANI): Late actor Heath Ledger owned two multi-million dollar mansions in the US, stashed under a secret trust account, it has emerged. The Brokeback Mountain star is believed to own two multi-million dollar homes in the US under a secret trust account named the Thank You for the trust, with no records on the publicly accessible ownership records of either property, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The trust is believed to have been formed around 2005. However it is also not clear how many people are trustees. Los Angeles lawyer Layne Dicker is listed alongside the trust as co-owner of Ledger's Hollywood Hills home named 'The Treehouse', which the actor purchased with then-partner Michelle Williams in June 2006 for 2.4 million dollars.

It was earlier owned by talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres and her Australian girlfriend Portia De Rossi. It is hidden behind high hedges and is located on a private compound next to comedian Will Ferrell's mansion. Ledger's second home in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Park Slope has been listed under the name of an unknown American man Jeff Gillman as owner and a co-trustee in Thank You for the Trust.

Ledger and Williams had purchased the home in September 2005 for 3.8 million dollars. Ledger's first home, which was a modest rental apartment in posh neighbourhood of Beachwood Canyon, was listed in public records under his name. The actor purchased a 1.6 million dollar five-bedroom mansion in July 2000 after earning a seven-figure salary for his role in his star-making lead role in adventure comedy A Knight's Tale.

The Oscar nominated star also shared a The two-storey Spanish-style mansion in the hills of hip LA neighbourhood Los Feliz with girlfriend Naomi Watts. He later sold the property in August 2005 to rocker Tony Kanal for 2.8 million dollars when he and Williams decided to reposition to New York.