America's Richest
Larry Ellison's Inner Drive
Steven Bertoni, 03.16.10
How an average student in Chicago became one of the most famous tech titans of his era--and the world's sixth-richest man.
Larry Ellison is the sixth-richest person in the world with a net worth of $28 billion.
Origins
Ellison was born in Manhattan in 1944 to Florence Spellman. Young and unwed, his mother took Larry to Chicago where his great aunt Lillian and her husband Louis Ellison raised him on Chicago's South Side. Intelligent but just an average student, he earned a spot at the University of Chicago learning basic computing and programming before dropping out and moving to Berkeley, Calif. After spending several years working programming jobs, Ellison joined the CIA project that would later inspire the birth of Oracle.
Ellison was born in Manhattan in 1944 to Florence Spellman. Young and unwed, his mother took Larry to Chicago where his great aunt Lillian and her husband Louis Ellison raised him on Chicago's South Side. Intelligent but just an average student, he earned a spot at the University of Chicago learning basic computing and programming before dropping out and moving to Berkeley, Calif. After spending several years working programming jobs, Ellison joined the CIA project that would later inspire the birth of Oracle.
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How He Made His Billions
The tyrannical tech chief has amassed a $28 billion fortune, earning the title of the 6th-richest person on the planet. Larry Ellison got his start working on a database project for the Central Intelligence Agency. Codename: Oracle. In 1977 Ellison went into the database business for himself, founding Oracle with Robert Miner and Edward Oates. Over the last 33 years the mogul has grown Oracle into a dominant player in the database, software and server industries. Current market cap: $126 billion. Ellison owns more than 20% of the company and rarely sells shares. The active acquirer has collected 57 companies in the past 5 years. He bagged Sun Microsystems ( JAVA - news - people ) in January for $7.4 billion. Ellison also owns 52% of business software company Netsuite.
The tyrannical tech chief has amassed a $28 billion fortune, earning the title of the 6th-richest person on the planet. Larry Ellison got his start working on a database project for the Central Intelligence Agency. Codename: Oracle. In 1977 Ellison went into the database business for himself, founding Oracle with Robert Miner and Edward Oates. Over the last 33 years the mogul has grown Oracle into a dominant player in the database, software and server industries. Current market cap: $126 billion. Ellison owns more than 20% of the company and rarely sells shares. The active acquirer has collected 57 companies in the past 5 years. He bagged Sun Microsystems ( JAVA - news - people ) in January for $7.4 billion. Ellison also owns 52% of business software company Netsuite.
Ellison's Billionaire Network
- Steve Jobs: Apple's ( AAPL - news - people ) billionaire chief executive is a pal of Ellison's and, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, acted as the official photographer during Ellison's marriage to romance novelist Melanie Craft in 2004. It was Ellison's fourth marriage.
- Steve Jobs: Apple's ( AAPL - news - people ) billionaire chief executive is a pal of Ellison's and, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, acted as the official photographer during Ellison's marriage to romance novelist Melanie Craft in 2004. It was Ellison's fourth marriage.
- Thomas Siebel: The former Oracle salesman left the company in 1990 after Ellison didn't bite on his sales-tracking software idea. Quit Oracle to start rival software firm, Siebel Systems. Took public in 1996, became a billionaire. Oracle bought the company for $5.9 billion in 2005. Siebel and Ellison still don't get along.
- Marc Benioff: Billionaire founder of Salesforce.com ( CRM - news - people ) spent 13 years at Oracle. Left in 1999 to build his cloud computing company with the help of a $2 million investment from Ellison. Current market cap: $9.6 billion.
Philanthropy
Famously gave--then took back--a $115 million pledge to Harvard University to build the Ellison Institute of World Health in 2006. Yanked funds after Harvard President Larry Summers was forced out. He instead formed the Ellison Medical Foundation; the organization researches aging, infectious disease and stem cells.
Famously gave--then took back--a $115 million pledge to Harvard University to build the Ellison Institute of World Health in 2006. Yanked funds after Harvard President Larry Summers was forced out. He instead formed the Ellison Medical Foundation; the organization researches aging, infectious disease and stem cells.
Passions And Hobbies
Ellison spends a great deal of time on the water, either cruising on his 454-foot mega yacht, Rising Sun, or racing to win. The sportsman spent more than $100 million in his quest to win sailing's prestigious America's Cup; his BMW Oracle racing team defeated biotech billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli off the coast of Valencia in February. When on land, he lives in an authentic Japanese style mansion on his 40-acre estate in Woodside California.
Ellison spends a great deal of time on the water, either cruising on his 454-foot mega yacht, Rising Sun, or racing to win. The sportsman spent more than $100 million in his quest to win sailing's prestigious America's Cup; his BMW Oracle racing team defeated biotech billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli off the coast of Valencia in February. When on land, he lives in an authentic Japanese style mansion on his 40-acre estate in Woodside California.
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