Larry Ellison facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Larry Ellison
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Ellison in 2010
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| Born |
Lawrence Joseph Ellison
August 17, 1944 New York City, U.S.
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| Title | Co-founder, executive chairman and CTO of Oracle Corporation |
| Spouse(s) |
Adda Quinn
(m. 1967; div. 1974)Nancy Wheeler Jenkins
(m. 1977; div. 1978)Barbara Boothe
(m. 1983; div. 1986)Melanie Craft
(m. 2003; div. 2010)Nikita Kahn
(div. 2020)Jolin (Keren) Zhu
(m. 2023) |
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Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American businessman and investor. He is famous for co-founding the software company Oracle Corporation. He was Oracle's chief executive officer (CEO) from 1977 to 2014. Today, he is the company's chief technology officer (CTO) and executive chairman.
Larry Ellison is one of the richest people in the world. As of early 2025, he is among the top wealthiest individuals globally. He is also known for owning most of Lānaʻi, which is the sixth-largest island in Hawaii.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Larry Ellison was born in New York City on August 17, 1944. When he was a baby, he got very sick. His mother then gave him to her aunt and uncle, who adopted him. He didn't meet his biological mother again until he was 48 years old.
He grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He remembers his adoptive mother as kind and loving. His adoptive father was a government worker who had lost money during the Great Depression.
Ellison attended South Shore High School in Chicago. Later, he went to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign to study medicine. He was even named science student of the year there. However, he left college after his adoptive mother passed away.
After that, he spent some time in California. He then attended the University of Chicago for one term. There, he studied physics and mathematics. This was also where he first learned about computer design. He then moved to Berkeley, California, and started his career as a computer programmer.
Starting Oracle Corporation
Building a Database Company (1970s-1990s)
In the 1970s, Larry Ellison worked for a company called Ampex Corporation. One of his projects was creating a database for the CIA. He named this project "Oracle." Ellison was inspired by a research paper about how to organize data in a "relational database system."
In 1977, he started his own company, Software Development Laboratories (SDL). He began with two partners and an investment of $2,000, with $1,200 of that money coming from him.
In 1979, the company changed its name to Relational Software Inc. Ellison wanted his Oracle database to work well with a similar database from IBM. However, IBM didn't share the information needed for this. The first public version of their database, released in 1979, was called Oracle version 2. There was no version 1.
In 1983, the company officially became Oracle Systems Corporation, named after its main product. In 1990, Oracle faced a big challenge. They had to lay off 10% of their employees because they were losing money. This happened because their sales team was encouraging customers to buy too much software at once. This caused problems when those future sales didn't happen. Oracle had to fix its financial reports and faced lawsuits. Ellison later called this "an incredible business mistake."
At first, IBM was the leader in large database systems. But they were slow to offer databases for Unix and Windows computers. This allowed companies like Oracle to grow and become leaders in these new markets.
Growing and Competing (1994-2010)
In 1994, another company called Informix became Oracle's main competitor. There was a strong rivalry between Informix's CEO and Larry Ellison. This competition was often in the news. Eventually, Informix ran into financial trouble.
In 1997, Ellison also joined the board of directors at Apple Computer when Steve Jobs returned to the company. He left the Apple board in 2002. After defeating its main rivals, Oracle became a dominant force in the database industry for many years.
In 2005, Ellison agreed to a settlement in a legal case. He offered to donate $100 million to charity in Oracle's name to resolve the issue.
Larry Ellison has earned a lot of money from Oracle. In 2007, his total earnings were over $61 million. In 2009, Oracle's board gave him another 7 million stock options. It was also reported that he would take a $1 salary for the 2010 fiscal year, down from $1 million.
In April 2009, Oracle announced its plan to buy Sun Microsystems. This was a big move after competing with IBM and Hewlett-Packard for the company.
Recent Years (2010-Present)
The European Union approved Oracle's purchase of Sun Microsystems in January 2010. They believed it could create new and exciting products. This purchase also gave Oracle control of MySQL, a popular open-source database.
In 2010, Larry Ellison spoke out when Hewlett-Packard fired its CEO, Mark Hurd. Ellison and Hurd were close friends. Soon after, Oracle hired Mark Hurd as a co-president. Ellison remained in his role at Oracle.
By 2012, Ellison was listed as one of the richest people in the world. He owns parts of other companies like Salesforce.com. In June 2012, Ellison bought 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lānaʻi. The price was reported to be between $500 million and $600 million.
In September 2014, Ellison stepped down as CEO of Oracle. He became the chief technology officer and executive chairman. Two other people, Mark Hurd and Safra Catz, became co-CEOs.
In 2016, Oracle bought NetSuite for $9.3 billion. Ellison owned a large part of NetSuite, so this sale brought him about $3.5 billion personally. In 2018, Ellison joined the board of directors for Tesla, Inc., after buying many shares in the company. He left the Tesla board in 2022.
As of 2022, Ellison owns a significant portion of Oracle Corporation shares. He also owns shares in Tesla. In 2024, a software startup he co-founded, Project Ronin, closed down. This company aimed to improve cancer care by analyzing medical data.
Giving Back and Other Activities
Larry Ellison has made many generous donations over the years. In 1992, he broke his elbow in a bicycle crash. After getting treatment, he donated $5 million to start a research center for bones and muscles at the University of California, Davis.
In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, Ellison offered to donate software to the U.S. government. This software would have helped create a national identification database.
In 2006, Ellison decided not to go through with a $115 million pledge to Harvard University. He said this was because the university's president, Lawrence Summers, was leaving. In 2007, he pledged $500,000 to strengthen a community center in Israel against rocket attacks. He has also donated millions to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
In 2010, Ellison signed "The Giving Pledge." This is a promise by many billionaires to give away most of their wealth to charity. In 2016, he donated $200 million to the University of Southern California to create a cancer research center. This center was later renamed the Ellison Institute of Technology.
Aviation and Cars
Ellison is a licensed pilot and owns several aircraft. He has faced issues with noise limits at the San Jose airport due to his large jet. A judge ruled in his favor, allowing his jet to operate under certain conditions.
He also owns military jets, including an Italian training aircraft. He tried to import a decommissioned Soviet fighter jet, but the U.S. government did not allow it.
Larry Ellison owns many fancy cars, like an Audi R8 and a McLaren F1. He especially likes the Acura NSX and used to give them as gifts.
Movie and Restaurant
Ellison had a small appearance in the 2010 movie Iron Man 2. He also opened a restaurant in Malibu called Nikita in 2013, which closed in 2014.
Tennis and Yachting
In 2009, Ellison bought the Indian Wells Tennis Garden facility and the Indian Wells Masters tennis tournament for $100 million. He has invested even more money into the club since then. He also bought a 50% share of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament.
Ellison is very involved in yachting competitions through his team, Oracle Team USA. He founded BMW Oracle Racing to compete in the America's Cup, a famous yacht race.
In 2010, Ellison's yacht USA 17 won the 2010 America's Cup. This was a historic win, bringing the Cup back to America for the first time since 1995. Ellison even served as a crew member in the final race.
In 2013, Oracle Team USA won the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco Bay. They made an amazing comeback, winning 9–8 after being behind 1–8. This is considered one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.
In 2019, Ellison helped start the SailGP international racing series. This series uses very fast boats called F50 foiling catamarans. Ellison has committed to funding the series for five years.
Political Involvement
Larry Ellison has shared his opinions on political matters. He has also donated money to both Democratic and Republican politicians.
In 2016, he was a major donor to a group supporting Marco Rubio's presidential campaign. In 2020, he allowed former president Donald Trump to hold a fundraiser at his home, though Ellison was not present. In 2022, he made a large donation to a political action committee linked to Senator Tim Scott.
In May 2022, it was reported that Ellison took part in a phone call after the 2020 presidential election. The call focused on ways to question the election results.
In January 2025, Ellison joined other tech leaders at the White House to announce The Stargate Project.
Recognition
Larry Ellison has received several awards for his achievements.
- In 1997, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
- In 2013, he was inducted into the Bay Area Business Hall of Fame.
- In 2019, the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC honored him for his generous support.
- In 2024, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Personal Life
Marriages and Family
Larry Ellison has been married six times. He has two children, David Ellison and Megan Ellison, from his third marriage to Barbara Boothe. Both David and Megan are successful film producers.
His fourth marriage was to romance novelist Melanie Craft. His friend Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, was the official wedding photographer. They divorced in 2010.
From 2010 to 2020, he was in a relationship and then married to Ukrainian-American model and actress Nikita Kahn. They divorced in 2020. As of 2024, Ellison is married to Jolin Ellison.
Homes
Larry Ellison owns many impressive homes. His estate in Woodside, California, is designed like a feudal Japanese village, with a man-made lake. He has also bought many properties in Malibu, California, including several on Carbon Beach.
In 2010, he bought the historic Astors' Beechwood Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. In 2011, he purchased a large estate and private golf course in Rancho Mirage, California.
In December 2020, he moved from California to Lānaʻi, the Hawaiian island he mostly owns. In 2022, he bought a very expensive property in Manalapan, Florida, which was the most expensive residential purchase in Florida history at the time.
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- Ellison Medical Foundation
