It’s back to basics for the “Bad Boy of Silicon Valley.”
A judge yesterday told cash-strapped Internet tycoon Halsey Minor to cough up his cars, jewelry, and even the rugs on his floor to pay off a $6.6 million debt to Sotheby’s auction house.
The order by Manhattan Federal Judge Barbara Jones covers a laundry list of luxuries amassed by the CNet.com founder, who blew through $100 million he got for selling his stake in the popular Web site, which reviews computers and electronic gear.
Among the items Minor must forfeit are “furniture other than basic household furniture,” “chandeliers and other lamps other than basic household lights” and “collectibles. . .except for basic tableware and basic cooking utensils and crockery.”
Pricey possessions such as furs, gems, and watches worth more than $35 each are also on the list.
And in what is surely a bitter blow to the tech guru, he has to surrender “Video and audio equipment, except for one television and one radio receiver, and including stereo equipment, computers, PDAs, MP3 and similar players.”
Jones did allow Minor to keep a wedding ring, and she also crossed out several proposed items on the two-page list, including household appliances, books, bicycles, linens, mirrors, and “domestic animals not exceeding $50 in value and necessary food for 60 days.”
Terms of the order require Minor to hire a shipping company to send all the goodies to the New York City Sheriff “with maximum dispatch and without delay, and in no event later than June 7,” so they can be auctioned off.
He also has to ship his remaining art collection to Sotheby’s, which won a judgment against him in March for reneging on bids to buy three paintings in 2008.
Minor’s lawyers didn’t return calls for comment.