Lawrence Joseph Ellison was born on August 17, 1944, in New York City. He was raised by his aunt in Chicago, growing up in a middle-class family without major hardships. He never had much interest in school and eventually dropped out of the University of Illinois before completing his degree.
He later moved to California and began working at Ampex Corporation, as well as at two other similar companies. After gaining experience, he founded his own computer systems company — Oracle. The company began operations in 1977 and, two years later, changed its name to Relational Software Inc. Today, nearly all major websites run on Oracle Corporation’s database systems.
Ellison accumulated a massive fortune through his database technologies and has indulged in a variety of luxuries — from a Gulfstream jet to a Sayonara racing yacht, known as the fastest in the world, which helped him win a world championship title. He also owns a Russian MiG-29 fighter jet and an estate in Woodside that is a replica of a 16th-century Japanese palace.
This American billionaire has invested part of his wealth in environmental conservation, medical research, and education, even donating personal computers to schools. At the same time, he’s known for spending money and time on wooing women, sometimes by giving them luxury cars.
Often referred to as the enfant terrible of Silicon Valley, Ellison is known for his harsh public criticisms of colleagues and business partners, never hesitating to speak bluntly, even about those involved in his many ventures. His ego is widely seen as inflated — a byproduct of the vast fortune he has amassed through business. That said, it’s a fortune he earned honestly.
The antithesis of Ellison is Bill Gates. While Gates is a family man, modest despite his wealth, and a quiet golf enthusiast, Ellison is extravagant, a womanizer, and even a fighter jet pilot. Despite Ellison’s flashy image, Gates is often viewed as more powerful — a fact that reportedly fuels Ellison’s desire to surpass him.
Despite his fame and fortune, Ellison has made several failed predictions — including claiming that the personal computer would soon become obsolete. He developed a processor called the Network Computer, designed to operate with minimal computing power and connect directly to the internet. While the idea may have merit, it has yet to become a common tool.
His latest project is a NIC (Network Internet Computer), priced around $200, which he envisions as a potential replacement for traditional personal computers.