Here are 25 facts about Larry Ellison:
1. Birth: Larry Ellison was born in the Bronx, New York City, on August 17, 1944.
2. Adoption: After his mother fell ill, Ellison was adopted by his aunt and uncle at the age of nine months.
3. Education: Ellison attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign but dropped out after his second year. He later enrolled at the University of Chicago but dropped out after one semester.
4. Relocation to California: In the mid-1960s, Ellison moved to northern California, where he began to learn about computer programming.
5. AMPLEX: Ellison’s first job in California was at an electronics company called Ampex.
6. Influence of Edgar F. Codd: Ellison was heavily influenced by a paper written by Edgar F. Codd on relational database systems called “A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks.”
7. Oracle Corporation: Larry Ellison, along with two partners, founded Software Development Laboratories (SDL) in 1977. The company was later renamed Relational Software Inc., and then finally Oracle Systems Corporation, now known as Oracle Corporation.
8. Named after Project Oracle: The name “Oracle” was derived from “Project Oracle,” a project that Ellison had worked on while he was employed at Ampex.
9. CEO of Oracle: Ellison served as CEO of Oracle from its founding until September 2014.
10. Wealth: Ellison is one of the wealthiest people in the world, with a net worth of $148B as of the publication date of this article.
11. Oracle’s Growth: Under Ellison’s leadership, Oracle grew from a small startup to one of the world’s leading technology companies, specializing in database software, cloud systems, and enterprise software products.
12. Sailing: Ellison is a passionate yachtsman. His team, Oracle Team USA, has won the America’s Cup, one of the most prestigious prizes in yacht racing.
13. Aviation: Ellison is a licensed pilot and owns several aircraft.
14. Real Estate: He is known for his significant real estate portfolio, including buying almost the entire Hawaiian island of Lanai.
15. Japanese Architecture Interest: Ellison has a well-documented interest in Japanese architecture, incorporating its elements in his properties.
16. Philanthropy: Ellison has pledged to give away the majority of his wealth to charitable causes.
17. Ellison Medical Foundation: In 1997, he established the Ellison Medical Foundation, which supported biomedical research on aging and age-related diseases.
18. Iron Man Inspiration: The character of Tony Stark in the Iron Man movies, played by Robert Downey Jr., was reportedly inspired by Ellison.
19. Cameo: Ellison made a cameo appearance in the Iron Man 2 movie.
20. Sports: Ellison is an avid tennis fan. He owns the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and the Indian Wells Masters tournament.
21. Tennis Transformative Investment: Under his ownership, the Indian Wells Masters has transformed into one of the best-attended tennis tournaments outside the four Grand Slams.
22. Health Interests: Ellison has a keen interest in health and wellness and has invested significantly in research into anti-aging and life extension.
23. Board of Tesla: Ellison joined the board of directors of Tesla, Inc., the electric car maker, in December 2018.
24. Friendship with Steve Jobs: Ellison was a close personal friend of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Ellison’s children were even reported to have called Jobs “our rich dad.”
25. Ellison’s Children: Larry Ellison has two children, Megan and David Ellison, who both work in the film industry. David is the founder of Skydance Media, and Megan is the founder of Annapurna Pictures.
