.-') _ .-') _ | |
( OO ) ) ( OO ) ) | |
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,' | |
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\ | |
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | ) | |
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/ | |
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ | | |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ | | |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--' | |
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Who is Larry Ellison, who became the world’s richest person this | |
week? | |
By Jordan Valinsky, CNN | |
Updated: | |
10:55 AM EDT, Thu September 11, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
Larry Ellison briefly became the world’s richest person Wednesday | |
before ending the day just $1 billion shy of the lead. | |
The uber-billionaire is still on the verge of becoming the world’s | |
richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, growing | |
his net worth $88 billion Wednesday, briefly from his perch. | |
The 81-year-old is Oracle’s largest individual shareholder and whose | |
stock is having its biggest single-day gain since 1992. Ellison’s | |
wealth stands at $383 billion, slightly below Musk’s $384 billion, | |
according to Bloomberg’s calculations. | |
So, how did he get here? | |
It traces back to 1977, when Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates founded | |
Software Development Laboratories in Santa Clara, California. They were | |
contracted by the CIA to build a database program code-named | |
“Oracle.” | |
Five years later, the company changed its name to Oracle and went | |
public in 1986. Throughout the four decades, the company has found | |
various levels of success in technology, but most recently in demand | |
for its data center capacity from AI customers. | |
Ellison has held various leadership roles in Oracle, including being | |
president of Oracle from 1978 to 1996. He was also chairman twice, from | |
1990 to 1992. In 1992, he had a near-fatal bodysurfing accident. He | |
came back in 1995 for about a decade. | |
In 2014, stepped down as Oracle CEO and was named executive chairman of | |
the board and chief technology officer, both titles he currently holds. | |
The company announced Tuesday that it signed four multibillion-dollar | |
contracts with customers during the quarter and expects to sign several | |
more in the coming months, propelling the stock — and Ellison’s | |
wealth — to astronomical levels. | |
But it’s not all work and no play. | |
In 2012, Ellison bought 98% of Lana’i, the sixth-largest island in | |
Hawaii. A notes that his wealth back then was just $36 billion and it | |
was the same island that Bill and Melinda Gates were married on. (They | |
later divorced.) | |
He’s also a big sailor. In 2013, Oracle Team USA, the team he backed, | |
came from behind to win and successfully defend the America’s Cup. | |
The team dissolved in 2017. | |
In 2018, Ellison cofounded SailGP, a high-speed catamaran racing league | |
that competes around the world and has attracted celebrity backers. | |
Most recently, actress Anne Hathaway and a consortium of investors | |
acquired the Italy SailGP team and soccer star Kylian Mbappé has | |
invested in the France SailGP team. | |
He’s also the Indian Wells tennis tournament in California, earning | |
it the nickname. It’s also famous for having Nobu, a pricey sushi | |
spot, overlooking one of its biggest show courts. | |
Politics are an area of interest for Ellison, who has frequently | |
donated millions of dollars to Republican and conservative groups. In | |
2022, he gave $15 million to a super PAC supporting South Carolina | |
Republican Sen. Tim Scott for president. In 2015, he also donated to | |
Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign. | |
Ellison currently has close ties with President Donald Trump. In | |
January, he appeared with at the White House as Trump announced the | |
creation a new company to grow AI infrastructure in the United States. | |
Ellison has donated to medical efforts, too. In 2016, he announced a | |
$200 million donation to the University of Southern California to | |
establish a cancer research and treatment center. | |
After his death, Ellison’s wealth will still be felt — somewhere. | |
In 2010, he signed the Giving Pledge, a Bill Gates-backed initiative | |
that promises to give away at least 95% of one’s wealth to charity. | |
Ellison on X he was “amending” that effort, funneling some of the | |
money toward a technical institute he founded with the University of | |
Oxford. | |
The Ellison Institute of Technology’s “humane endeavors include | |
transforming healthcare by designing and distributing a new generation | |
of life-saving drugs, combating world hunger by engineering higher | |
yielding crops and building a global network of low-cost indoor growing | |
systems, and slowing climate change by developing efficient clean | |
energy generation and storage system,” he wrote. | |
A from August said that Ellison “rarely engaged with the community of | |
Giving Pledge signers” and “has cherished his autonomy and does not | |
want to be influenced to support” Gates’ causes. (Ellison did not | |
respond to the Times’ request for comment). | |
<- back to index |