Lipper II: Judgment Day

The heated scene in a New York State Supreme Court room on Jan. 7 was fitting for the Academy Award-winning film producer Kenneth Lipper. But the man, who has become even more famous for running a hedge fund that allegedly lost more than $315 million belonging to some of the country's rich and famous, wasn't there. He let his lawyers duke it out with his irate investors and their attorneys over how to get their money back.

Possibly because the amount of money in dispute is so great, and the names of the affected so prominent, Judge Karla Moskowitz ruled that Lipper has to start refunding his investors by early February. She ordered that 75% of the already liquidated assets of two Lipper Convertibles funds be returned. That's about $250 million, based on the lower of two valuation methods. Lipper's high-profile clients include actress Julia Roberts, Walt Disney (DIS) Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner, Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings (D-S.C.), New York Reserve Bank Chairman William McDonough, and members of the Tisch family, which controls Loews Corp.