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More lifestyles of the Google rich and famous

Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.
Elinor Mills

Thank god for lawsuits! If it weren't for court documents we wouldn't know that Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin aren't always in lock-step as leaders of the world's hottest Internet company.

The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating article about a lawsuit related to the renovation of a Boeing 767 that, according to the article, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt dubbed the "party airplane."

According to the aviation designer who claims he was wrongfully fired from the job, the two young billionaires had grand plans for outfitting the aircraft. The designer said the men "'had some strange requests,' including hammocks hung from the ceiling of the plane. At one point (the designer) witnessed a dispute between them over whether Mr. Brin should have a 'California king' size bed," the article says. "Mr. Schmidt stepped in to resolve that by saying, 'Sergey, you can have whatever bed you want in your room; Larry, you can have whatever kind of bed you want in your bedroom. Let's move on.'"

The renovation, plans of which included a lounge area for Schmidt, two adjoining bedrooms for Brin and Page, a large sitting and dining area, a seating area and large gallery, has gone over the initial $10 million budgeted, the article says.