CT, valid point; some people inherit money. Another example is the concept of “Torah ugedulah bemakom echad,” where a person has fancy things in order to benefit klal yisroel as a nobleman, and to promote kiddush Hashem. The caveat with that, however, is as rebbe yehudah hanasi raised his small finger on his deathbed and swore that he never enjoyed this world even with this finger. A similar avodas Hashem was undertaken by the rizhiner rebbe, who emphasized malchus to his chasidim… He made the same oath before he was niftar too.
I’m guessing the chofetz chaim knew the man and his circumstances.