Easy come, easy go.
A judge today told cash-strapped Internet tycoon Halsey Minor to make good on the $6.6 million-plus he owes Sotheby’s for reneging on his winning bids for three paintings.
Manhattan federal Judge Barbara Jones authorized the New York City Sheriff’s Office to seize and sell off anything it can — except for Minor’s art collection — to satisfy his debt to the auction house.
Jones also ordered the so-called “bad boy of Silicon Valley” to appear for a deposition in San Francisco on Thursday to answer questions about what remains of his once-staggering wealth.
The directive came one business day after Minor scored a major court victory in San Francisco over rival auction house Christie’s, winning more than $8.5 million in damages for its failure to immediately give back five paintings by Richard Price that failed to sell.
The award covers the drop in value of the artworks during the time that Christie’s held on to them during the financial meltown of 2008, because Minor owed Christie’s $7 million for other paintings he won at auction.
Minor pocketed $100 million from the sale of cnet.com in 2000, but blew it on property and art.
Earlier this month, he put his collection up for sale to pay off an unpaid, $22 million loan.