Paul Allen

A federal bankruptcy court judge "startled many in a Manhattan courtroom"' yesterday when he questioned a $200 million payout slated to be made to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen as part of the restructuring of his Charter Communications cable company, the New York Post reports.

US Bankruptcy Court Judge James Peck asked an Allen investment manager, Lance Conn, if he thought it "appears somewhat unseemly for a person as wealthy as Allen" to be receiving the payout as part of the bankruptcy, the paper reports.

How's that for a leading question? At any rate, the Post reports that Conn defended the payout by explaining that Allen has invested $8 billion in Charter and lost money because of its problems. At the same time, Allen has been able to cushion the blow by writing off those losses to reduce his taxes on other investments.

Forbes magazine estimated Allen's net worth at $10.5 billion earlier this year, down 36 percent from the previous year as a result of Charter's problems and other struggling investments. The bankruptcy court in Manhattan is focusing on objections from creditors who hold $8 billion of Charter's $22 billion in debt.