Click here to print

Ellison gets $3million for sod all

28 Mar 2008 | 07:53 GMT

By Nick Farrell

His estate is too big

DAFT TAX MEN in the US have taken pity on Oracle boss Larry Ellison and given him a $3 million tax break because is huge estate is a waste of space.

Ellison, who is one of the 12 richest people in the world, managed to convince the tax people that the estate in Woodside is 'functionally obsolete'.

He has managed to trouser the cash which would otherwise have ended up funding schools in San Mateo County and the council is understandably miffed about it.

Ellison spent nine years constructing the estate which is modelled on a Japanese emperor's 16th-century country pad.

Tax men allowed the exemption based on the fact that it should have cost $166.3 million to build. In fact, after shedloads of delays, it ended up costing poor Larry $200 million. Now he claims it is only worth $60 million because there is currently a limited market for Japanese white elephants. µ

L'Inq

SFGate

© 2007 Incisive Media Investments Ltd. 2007

Click here to print

Close the window