Inside the Scandalous Life of the World’s Second Richest Billionaire: Notorious Player or Misunderstood Genius? Lavish Parties, Secret Romances, Ruthless Ambition—Is He an Inspiration or a Cautionary Tale? Fans and Critics Fiercely Debate the True Legacy and Morality of a Modern-Day Tycoon. Social Media Erupts!
AmericaAmong tech billionaires, some are famous for their unique personalities or different hobbies, and Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, is a “role model.”
Larry Ellison was born in New York, not knowing who his father was. When he was 9 months old, he was sent by his mother to his sister and his wife in Chicago. It wasn’t until he was 12 years old that he knew he was adopted.
As a child, Larry caused his adoptive parents a headache because of his hobby of “destroying” electrical appliances. All the equipment in the house was dismantled by him to find out. That mischief is the seed for his passion for technology. Later, when he studied engineering at two universities (but did not have a degree), Larry did not stand out academically but immersed himself in waking up nights to write code.
In 1976, when tech billionaires such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were all set up careers, Larry was still a “notorious player” (according to his wife), constantly empty-handed because of debt and spending more than he did.
Without a degree, Larry applied for a job at a software company and met two colleagues, Bob Miner and Ed Oates. In 1977, the three quit their jobs and founded the company with an initial capital of $2,000.
Although the main programming job was undertaken by the two friends, they both realized that “for the company to be successful, it takes Larry’s boldness”.
A few months later, Larry persuaded the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to become his first client. Then the Navy, then the NASA Space Agency. The first version of Oracle’s software was criticized by the technical community as “garbage”, but Larry still managed to convince customers, friends, and colleagues to believe in Oracle’s prospects. “In the next 10 years, Oracle will be a billion-dollar company and you will all be millionaires,” he declared to his colleagues.
Larry made that claim. For more than 10 years, Oracle has continuously grown by 100%. In 1986, Oracle was listed on the stock exchange. With money in hand, Larry Ellison entered the stage of acquiring rivals such as the acquisition of PeopleSoft ($10.3 billion), Sun Microsystems ($7.4 billion), BEA Systems ($8.5 billion)… He “burned” more than $400 billion for 50 deals and turned Oracle into a global database software hegemon.
More than just a tech billionaire, Larry is also a symbol of rebellion. For him, “success is not when you win, but when all your opponents lose.”
While most of the famous tech billionaires of the time such as Bill Gates and Steve Job have simple personal lives, Larry has a luxurious life. He once owned the world’s largest yacht, bought the entire island of Lanai in Hawaii and built a Japanese-style mansion in Kyoto for more than $80 million. In particular, he was passionate about sailing and almost died because of this hobby.
Larry’s private life is no less dramatic. He has been married 6 times and has been entangled in countless noisy love affairs. His first wife was Adda Quinn, a historical researcher.
Adda said her seven-year marriage to Larry was like a roller coaster. He lived in the style of “what you like is done immediately”. The couple earns $1,600 a month, but he is willing to spend $1,000 on a bicycle, eat at a high-end restaurant or borrow $3,000 to buy a sailboat. Unable to stand Larry’s impulsive personality, she filed for divorce.
Larry’s second marriage also lasted just over a year. The company’s third wife, Barbara Boothe, a receptionist, also divorced after three years of marriage. His fourth wife, Melanie Craft, was a romantic writer. They fell in love for 8 years before getting married in 2003. However, this marriage soon broke up.
His fifth wife, Nikita Kahn, is a Ukrainian actress model, who met Larry when she was just 19 years old. The two have a 47-year age difference. They broke up in 2016 and finalized their divorce in 2020.
His current wife, Jolin Zhu, who is of Chinese descent, is also 47 years younger than him. He and his wife are said to have had two children, although they have never held a public wedding. In the previous divorce filing, Larry affirmed that he “does not have children in common” with his ex-wife, but revealed that he is “fathering two young children and is unprecedentedly happy”.
Larry Ellison is about to turn 81 years old, has a stylish and healthy appearance because of his beauty habits and passion for outdoor and adventurous sports activities.
In early June, Larry Ellison’s fortune skyrocketed to about $262 billion, surpassing Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos to become the second richest person in the world.
From a poor orphan boy to a wealthy data tycoon, from a notorious “player” to a father in his 80s, his life is a testament to the fact that success has no straight lines, only those who are not afraid to stumble.