Larry Ellison, the tech magnate who co-founded Oracle, is an exceptional individual with an intriguing life story that has seen him rise from humble beginnings to become a billionaire. Born Lawrence Joseph Ellison on August 17, 1944, in the Bronx to a single mother, Ellison had a challenging early life. At just nine months old, he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle in Chicago after contracting pneumonia. His adoptive father, Louis Ellison, was a Russian immigrant who changed his name in honor of Ellis Island, where he arrived in the United States.
Growing up in Chicago's South Side, Ellison attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, but his education was interrupted by the death of his adoptive mother during his second year. He tried college again at the University of Chicago but dropped out after a single semester. It wasn't until 1966 that Ellison moved to Berkeley, California, the emerging hub of the tech industry, and found his calling in the world of computers and programming.
Ellison's big break came when he joined Ampex, an electronics company working on a database project for the CIA codenamed 'Oracle'. Inspired by the theories of IBM computer scientist Edgar F. Codd, Ellison and his partners, Bob Miner and Ed Oates, founded Software Development Laboratories in 1977 with just $2,000 in funding, $1,200 of which came from Ellison himself. They aimed to develop a revolutionary relational database, which would change the way computer systems stored and accessed information.
Oracle grew rapidly, and by 1986, the company had its initial public offering, reporting revenue of $55 million. However, there were challenges along the way, including layoffs and public-relations battles with competitors like Informix. Ellison's competitive streak and willingness to trash-talk rivals became legendary in the industry. In 2004, Oracle acquired HR software provider PeopleSoft for $10.3 billion, and in 2010, it bought Sun Microsystems, a server company.
Ellison has been married four times and divorced as well, which, combined with his immense wealth, has earned him a reputation as a cosmopolitan and jet-setting playboy. His most recent relationship was with Nikita Kahn, a model and actress.
Ellison's net worth soared, and according to Forbes, he is the fifth-richest person in the world, with a fortune of $139.7 billion surpassing the wealth of India's richest man Mukesh Ambani whose net worth is $117.4 billion and Gautam Adani whose net worth is $83.9 billion.
