Originally published 2007, part of a series I did for a biography website. Can’t even remember who now, but it’s long gone.
Larry Ellison is currently the fifth-richest billionaire in the world, with a net worth of $54 billion USD. He is the co-founder and CEO of Oracle Corporation, a computer software company which specializes in developing database management systems and other enterprise software products. If this sounds like a dry and boring way to make your fortune, that business is offset by the colorful and extravagant personality behind it.
Larry Ellison was born August 17, 1944, in Manhattan, New York, USA. As astounding as it is to consider for the world’s fifth-richest person, his mother was just nineteen years old and unwed, and to this day his father is not established. At the age of nine months, he was adopted by Lillian and Louis Ellison, who raised him in Chicago’s South Shore as their own. Larry Ellison did not even meet his real mother until the age of 48.
In what is now considered a famous quirk of his, he attended both the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago, without finishing either one and without attaining a degree. At the age of 20, in 1964, he was first exposed to computers and programming, and nothing else would ever again hold his fascination. Thus, he is what is considered an “autodidact” – someone who is self-taught. In the computer programmer culture, an autodidact is actually held in high esteem relative to a college-trained professional, in contrast to other industries, since colleges have a hard time keeping up with the changes of the technology industry.
In the 1970s, Larry Ellison found himself working as a programmer for Ampex, an American electronics company which makes audio and video equipment. During this time, Ampex received the contract to develop a computer database program for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, to be code-named ‘Oracle’, and Ellison got to work on that project. Ellison retained the rights to produce the database software commercially and drew inspiration from white papers published at the time by Edgar F. Codd. Ellison founded his own software development company, called Software Development Laboratories , in 1977, using only $2000 of his own money to do so.
Software Development Laboratories changed its name to Relational Software Inc., then again to Oracle, after their lead database product. Oracle software charted the course of computing history into the Information Age, first running on VAX machines, then Unix and PDPs, into mainframe servers and desktop microcomputers. Through the decades, Oracle software has been built into a trustworthy and respected brand name. The highly technical nature of developing database software prohibits start-up competitors, and the industry is pretty happy to let it be Oracle’s problem.
Yet another notable trait for a world-class billionaire, Larry Ellison is staunchly supportive of Free and Open Source Software. Oracle’s products have always run across all computer systems and platforms, in stark contrast to other companies in the software industry who choose to lock users into running Microsoft Windows. People who think that Bill Gates is the only billionaire with an operating system will be surprised to learn that Oracle has its own distribution of the Linux operating system. Called Oracle Enterprise Linux but known commonly as “Unbreakable Linux”, it is a security-hardened version of the increasingly-popular GNU/Linux operating system. Even more amazing, Oracle Corporation chooses to give Unbreakable Linux away for free, charging only for support contracts. This is in keeping with the GNU/Linux philosophy.
Finally, there may be people richer than Larry Ellison, but none can be said to enjoy it more. Ellison is active in sports such as yacht racing. He owns a line of exotic cars including the Acura NSX, a McLaren F1, and an Audi R8. He is also a licensed pilot, and owns and flies aircraft regularly. His home in Woodside, California is a $200 million estate that is modeled on feudal Japanese architecture. He has also rivaled the top world billionaires in charitable donations, giving away 1% of his profits to charity.
Larry Ellison is a living, breathing anomaly, with far more color to his character than can ever be expressed in this article. He has made his way exclusively on his own, with no help from anyone. He is one of the few world-class billionaires of whom it can be said that he has earned every penny of his fortune – perhaps many times over.
