We deserve some sort of prize for holding out a full five days to post about the nude pictures of Lindsay Lohan in New York Magazine. New York got some twenty million page views in the first two days, according to Jeff Bercovici. So much traffic that it crashed the website.

New York Magazine was started by writers and other disreputable literary types but soon fell into the hands of Rupert Murdoch thanks to a hostile takeover. When it happened, some were scandalized. Now it looks like a practice run for Murdoch’s takeover of the Wall Street Journal. Murdoch sold the magazine in 1990 to to K-III Communications, a partnership controlled by KKR’s Henry Kravis. The magazine did well for several years but Kravis was not exactly a hands-off owner. He reportedly fired an editor over the magazine's coverage of his friends and Wall Street associates.

In 2003, New York was sold to Bruce Wasserstein, the Cravath attorney turned investment banker turned private equity baron. Wasserstein installed the best magazine editor alive, Adam Moss, to head the magazine. And that guy got Lindsay Lohan to pose naked for all of us, once again confirming his place at the top of the magazine editor heap. In short, we all have private equity to thank for bringing us this historic triumph.

Even better, there is an important tax lesson to be learned from all this. At least, that’s what we’re told by the folks at MainStreet.com, the money blog version of Parade magazine. How exactly are Lindsay’s assets taxable? We’re not quite sure we want to answer that question this early in the afternoon. But here’s how MainStreet.com gets there:

Unlike Hollywood starlets, most people are not stripping for the public, but there is a good chance that their financial records could undergo a shocking undressing. (Yes, we know it’s stretch, but go with it, dearest readers.) According to Surviving an IRS Tax Audit, nearly 50% of all taxpayers will be audited during their lifetime. While the initial notice in the mail can be cause for concern, an audit from the IRS doesn’t mean the worst as long as people know what to expect and are prepared.

At least they admit it's a stretch. A-plus for effort, kids.

After the jump we bring private equity and Lindsay Lohan together in a much more intimate way. It's NSFW, which is internet-speak for "totally awesome."

Editor's Note: That picture represents Lindsay on Portfolio, which seemed appropriate since Portfolio's media writer was expounding on Lindsay. That's our story and we're sticking to it.

Lindsay Lohan Nude [New York]

Naked Lindsay a Web Home Run for 'New York' [Media Matters, Portfolio.com]
Naked Lohan Makes Us Think of Taxes [MainStreet.com]