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Co-founder & CTO, Oracle
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Lawrence Joseph Ellison, born on August 17, 1944, in the Bronx, New York, is a prominent American businessman, entrepreneur, and the co-founder of the software giant Oracle Corporation. As of early 2026, he serves as the executive chairman and chief technology officer (CTO) of Oracle, having pivoted the company from its origins as a database management firm to a leader in cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence. Ellison is widely recognized as one of the most significant figures in the history of Silicon Valley, known for his aggressive business strategy, intense competitive drive, and influential role in shaping enterprise computing. Ellison’s early life was marked by displacement and personal struggle. Born to a young single mother, Florence Spellman, he was sent to Chicago at the age of nine months after contracting pneumonia. He was raised by his aunt and uncle, Lillian and Louis Ellison, who adopted him. Growing up in a middle-class, primarily Jewish neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, Ellison displayed an early aptitude for math and science. He enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he was named science student of the year, but he withdrew after his sophomore year following the death of his adoptive mother. He later attended the University of Chicago for a brief period before moving to Berkeley, California, in 1966, where he began a career as a programmer. The foundation of Ellison’s professional legacy began in the 1970s while he was working at the electronics company Ampex. During his tenure there, he worked on a database project for the CIA codenamed "Oracle." Inspired by a research paper written by IBM computer scientist Edgar F. Codd, which detailed the theoretical framework for relational database management systems, Ellison recognized the commercial potential of this technology. In 1977, he joined with colleagues Bob Miner and Ed Oates to found Software Development Laboratories (SDL), which would eventually be renamed Oracle Corporation. The company’s flagship product, the Oracle database, revolutionized the industry by organizing vast amounts of information in a way that allowed for efficient storage and quick retrieval, making it indispensable for Fortune 500 companies. Under Ellison’s leadership as CEO—a position he held for 37 years until 2014—Oracle expanded its dominance through rapid growth, strategic acquisitions, and the development of comprehensive software suites. In 2014, Ellison stepped down as CEO to transition into the roles of executive chairman and CTO, allowing him to focus on the company's long-term technical vision. In the years that followed, particularly in the 2020s, he steered Oracle heavily toward cloud computing and, more recently, artificial intelligence. By partnering with organizations such as OpenAI, Ellison positioned Oracle as a key provider of the heavy-duty infrastructure required for modern AI development. His leadership has seen the company transition from its traditional, on-premise software roots to a modern, cloud-centric model, a move that significantly bolstered Oracle’s market standing. Beyond his business career, Ellison is known for a lifestyle that often intersects with his massive personal wealth. He is an avid sailor, having participated in professional yachting and major races, and holds a deep interest in aviation and high-end real estate. His most notable real estate endeavor is his acquisition of 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lānaʻi in 2012, which he has described as a laboratory for sustainability. He has also been a significant investor in other sectors, including recent moves into media through his son David’s production company, Skydance Media, and its merger with Paramount Global. Ellison has long been a significant, albeit private, philanthropist. In 2010, he signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donate a vast majority of his wealth to charitable causes. His philanthropic efforts have been channeled primarily through the Ellison Institute of Technology, which focuses on global challenges such as healthcare, food insecurity, and climate change. Throughout his career, Ellison has remained a polarizing but undeniably influential figure, maintaining a significant ownership stake in Oracle and continuing to actively steer the company’s trajectory well into his eighth decade. His professional journey, from a college dropout coding on mainframes to a central architect of the modern data-driven economy, remains a cornerstone of the technology industry’s history.
AI-powered civic intelligence rating
Co-founded Oracle, defining the relational database industry
Owns 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai
America's Cup winner (Oracle Team USA)
Aggressive sales tactics and licensing audits of Oracle customers
Data privacy lawsuit settlements
Settled a shareholder lawsuit for $100 million regarding insider trading (2005)
News articles featuring Larry Ellison
Consistent fixture in the world's top 10 richest people
Co-founded Software Development Laboratories (SDL) in 1977, which later became Oracle Corporation.
Led Oracle through its initial public offering (IPO) in 1986.
Won the Science Applications International Corporation Information Technology Leadership award in 1994.
Received the InfoWorld Industry Achievement Award in 1996 for his contributions to the computer industry.
Founded the Ellison Medical Foundation in 1997 to support biomedical research on aging and age-related diseases.
Received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement in 1997.
Appointed to the board of directors of Apple Computer in 1997.
Oversaw Oracle's acquisition of enterprise software giant PeopleSoft in 2005.
Purchased the Indian Wells Masters tennis tournament in 2009.
Signed The Giving Pledge in 2010, committing to donate the majority of his wealth to philanthropic causes.
Oversaw Oracle's strategic acquisition of Sun Microsystems in 2010.
Won the America's Cup as the principal of BMW Oracle Racing in 2010, becoming the first American owner to win the trophy in 15 years.
Purchased 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lānaʻi in 2012.
Inducted into the Bay Area Business Hall of Fame in 2013.
Won the 34th America's Cup in 2013 as the owner of Oracle Team USA, achieving the largest in-series comeback in the competition's history.
Stepped down as CEO of Oracle in 2014, transitioning to the roles of Executive Chairman and Chief Technology Officer.
Oversaw the $9.3 billion acquisition of NetSuite by Oracle in 2016.
Donated $200 million to the University of Southern California in 2016 to establish the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine.
Joined the board of directors of Tesla, Inc. in 2018.
Received the Rebels With A Cause Award from the Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine in 2019.
Expanded the Ellison Institute of Technology with a new campus in Oxford, England, in 2023.
Named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.
Briefly became the world's wealthiest person in September 2025 following a significant surge in Oracle stock.
Appointed to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in 2026.
In 2006, Oracle and Ellison faced shareholder derivative lawsuits alleging that company executives engaged in backdating stock options to improperly inflate their value. The case was settled with Oracle agreeing to pay $100 million to charity and implement governance changes, while Ellison was not personally charged.
In 2020, Ellison faced significant employee and public backlash after hosting a high-profile reelection fundraiser for President Donald Trump at his California estate. This led to internal petitions and protests from Oracle employees who argued the event conflicted with the company's stated values of diversity and inclusion.
Since acquiring 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai in 2012, Ellison has faced ongoing criticism from local residents and community groups. Critics have accused him of fostering an exclusive environment, exerting excessive control over local life, and implementing development projects that favor luxury tourism over the needs of long-term residents.
In 2018, Ellison's appointment to the Tesla Board of Directors sparked governance concerns among analysts and investors. Critics questioned his ability to provide independent oversight of CEO Elon Musk, citing their well-documented close personal friendship and Ellison's public defense of Musk during the CEO's regulatory battles with the SEC.
In 2018, Oracle engaged in a protracted and unsuccessful legal battle to protest the U.S. Department of Defense's $10 billion JEDI cloud contract. The company's aggressive efforts, which were widely viewed as an attempt to block competitor Amazon from winning the contract, were rejected by both the Government Accountability Office and federal courts.