Larry happy to be worth less

There must be something in the air. No sooner has Heather Mills decided to challenge how much Paul McCartney is worth, Larry Ellison has been doing the same thing – with himself! And the good news? Larry's even richer than he or we thought! The Oracle CEO challenged the San Mateo County assessment on the value of his 23-acre Japanese-style compound in Woodside which will lead to an estimated $3 million tax refund. Always useful especially in a credit crunch, but it's a bit weird finding Larry happy to be deemed to be worth less than we all thought!

Ironically the refund is based on the property being valued at less than the county estimated. Assessors apparently failed to account for the "functional obsolescence" of an estate valued at an estimated $173 million last year. They also – and this has got to hurt! - cited "the limited market appeal of 16th century Japanese architecture and grounds". Well, it is a very...personalised look and feel. If he ever wants to sell, he's going to need a lot of beige magnolia to bland it down...