Crime | Disney Disney Must Pay Millionaire Creator $269M Judge agrees it hid profits in funky accounting By Emily Rauhala Posted Jul 8, 2010 4:34 PM CDT Copied In this image released by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, Regis Philbin plays a round of the game with guest Anil Kapoor on his morning talk show in 2009. (AP Photo/Disney-ABC Domestic Television, David M. Russell) A California jury ordered the Walt Disney Co. to pay the creator of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire $269.2 million for withholding profits, the LA Times reports. Celador International argued that Disney hid its real profits through what's known in the biz as "Hollywood accounting" and in the lawsuit as a "complex web of self-dealing transactions," notes the Wall Street Journal. Millionaire made gobs of money for Disney through licensing fees and ads, but showed up as a money-loser on company ledgers. Read These Next "Admiral Piett" of the Star Wars universe died from COVID. Trump voter who supported mass deportations could be deported herself. Rescuer in floods gets a poignant question. What makes a person cool? These six traits. Report an error