Larry Ellison Net Worth

What is Larry Ellison's Net Worth and Salary?

Larry Ellison is an American billionaire entrepreneur who has a net worth of $185 billion.

Larry Ellison earned his fortune as the co-founder of Oracle Corporation, one of the most important enterprise software companies in history. He founded Oracle in 1977 and served as CEO until 2014, then remained deeply involved as executive chairman and chief technology officer. His salary has never been the main source of his wealth. The vast majority of his fortune comes from his enormous Oracle equity stake, dividends, stock sales, and a handful of major investments outside the company.

Larry Ellison is best known for turning Oracle from a tiny database startup into a global software powerhouse. Oracle became dominant by selling relational database software to corporations, governments, banks, airlines, retailers, and technology companies, then expanded into enterprise applications, cloud computing, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and hardware through acquisitions and internal development. Ellison became one of Silicon Valley's most aggressive and colorful founders, famous for his rivalry with Bill Gates, his lavish spending, his obsession with sailing and aviation, and his willingness to make huge strategic bets. Outside of Oracle, he has owned a multibillion-dollar Tesla stake, financed major media investments connected to his son David Ellison, purchased 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai, and built one of the most valuable personal real estate portfolios in the world.

Early Life

Lawrence Joseph Ellison was born on August 17, 1944, in New York City. His biological mother, Florence Spellman, was a young single mother, and his biological father was an Italian-American pilot. When Ellison was still an infant, he contracted pneumonia, and his mother allowed her aunt and uncle, Lillian and Louis Ellison, to adopt and raise him.

Ellison grew up in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago. His adoptive mother was warm and supportive, while his adoptive father, a government employee and small real estate investor, was more distant and demanding. Ellison later described his childhood as emotionally difficult but formative. He was bright, rebellious, and drawn to mathematics and science, but he was not a conventional student.

He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied as a pre-med student and reportedly performed well academically. After his adoptive mother died, Ellison left school before completing his degree. He later enrolled briefly at the University of Chicago, where he studied physics and mathematics and was exposed to computer design. He left after one term and eventually moved to California, where the technology industry was beginning to take shape.

Early Career

After moving west, Ellison worked a series of programming and technical jobs. He learned much of what he knew on the job rather than through formal training. During the 1970s, he worked for companies including Amdahl Corporation and Ampex Corporation, where he met future Oracle co-founder Bob Miner.

At Ampex, Ellison worked on a database project for the CIA that used the code name "Oracle." Around the same time, he became fascinated by a 1970 paper by IBM computer scientist Edgar F. Codd that described the relational database model. The basic idea was that data could be organized in tables and queried using a more flexible, logical system than older database structures. IBM developed its own relational database research project, System R, but Ellison saw an opening. IBM was slow to commercialize the idea, and Ellison believed he could build a company around it faster.

Founding Oracle

In 1977, Ellison co-founded Software Development Laboratories with Bob Miner and Ed Oates. The company was originally tiny, reportedly started with just a few thousand dollars. Miner was the key technical architect, Oates was an important early engineer, and Ellison became the company's driving salesman, strategist, and public face.

The company released its first commercial database product in 1979. Famously, it was called Oracle Version 2, even though there had been no Version 1. The name made the product sound more mature than it was. That kind of bold marketing became a defining part of Ellison's style.

The company was later renamed Relational Software Inc., then Oracle Systems Corporation, and eventually Oracle Corporation. Oracle's big advantage was portability. Ellison pushed the company to make its database work across different computer systems rather than being tied to a single hardware platform. That helped Oracle sell to companies that were adopting multiple systems and needed reliable, scalable database software.

Oracle Goes Public

Oracle went public on March 12, 1986, one day before Microsoft. Ellison owned a major stake in the company at the time of the IPO, instantly making him a very wealthy man on paper. But Oracle's real explosion came later, as businesses around the world became increasingly dependent on database software.

The company nearly collapsed in 1990 after aggressive sales practices and accounting issues forced Oracle to restate earnings. Oracle laid off employees, its stock plunged, and Ellison's reputation took a major hit. But the company recovered with Oracle7, a more powerful database product released in the early 1990s. From there, Oracle became one of the central software companies of the client-server and internet eras.

Oracle's databases powered corporate systems, websites, financial institutions, government agencies, and enterprise applications. The company competed fiercely with IBM, Sybase, Informix, Microsoft, SAP, and later Amazon, Salesforce, Google, and other cloud giants.

(Photo by William STEVENS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Outside of Oracle, Ellison made headlines in 2018 when he disclosed a $1 billion personal investment in Tesla. That stake, amounting to around 1.5% of the company, surged in value during Tesla's meteoric rise, at one point being worth more than $15 billion when Tesla's market cap topped $1 trillion. He also served on Tesla's board of directors from 2018 to 2022.

Ellison's net worth has fluctuated dramatically with the fortunes of Oracle and Tesla, but has remained in the upper echelon of global wealth for decades. On July 16, 2025, he surpassed Mark Zuckerberg to become the second richest person in the world for the first time, with a net worth of $256 billion. At that point, Elon Musk was the richest person in the world with a net worth of $366 billion. Mark Zuckerberg was #3 at $247 billion, and Jeff Bezos was #4 at $243 billion. His net worth had more than tripled, from $80 billion, in late 2022. On September 10, 2025, Larry's became the #1 richest person in the world for the first time in his life when his $395 billion net worth surpassed Elon Musk's $385 billion net worth.

In addition to his tech holdings, Ellison owns one of the most unique real estate assets on Earth: the Hawaiian island of Lanai, which he purchased for $300 million in 2012. His portfolio also includes expansive estates in Malibu, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, and Rhode Island, a collection of yachts, and multiple private jets.

Kimberly White/Getty Images

Tesla Investment

Over a period of months in 2018, Larry Ellison quietly spent around $1 billion to acquire 3 million shares of Tesla. He and Elon Musk are longtime friends. At the time he revealed his stake to the SEC, he owned 1.7% of Tesla. His 3 million shares became 15 million after the company did a 5-1 stock split in August 2020.

At various points in 2021, those 15 million shares were worth as much as $13 billion, but on average, closer to $10 billion. He left the Tesla Board in August 2022.

Larry Ellison in 2001 (Photo By Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Expansion, Acquisitions, and Cloud Computing

Ellison built Oracle through both internal development and major acquisitions. In the 2000s, Oracle went on an acquisition spree, buying PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems, BEA Systems, and dozens of other companies. These deals pushed Oracle beyond databases and deeper into enterprise software, including human resources, customer relationship management, financial systems, and business applications.

One of Oracle's biggest acquisitions came in 2010, when it bought Sun Microsystems. That deal gave Oracle control of Java, Solaris, Sun hardware, and MySQL. The acquisition was controversial, but it reflected Ellison's desire to own more of the enterprise technology stack.

For years, Oracle was seen by some investors as slower than Amazon, Microsoft, and Google in cloud computing. Ellison, however, continued pushing the company into cloud infrastructure, databases, and enterprise AI services. Oracle later became a major beneficiary of the artificial intelligence boom, as demand for cloud computing capacity and AI infrastructure surged. That renewed investor enthusiasm helped drive major gains in Oracle's stock and, by extension, Ellison's personal fortune.

Stepping Down as CEO

Ellison stepped down as Oracle CEO in September 2014 after 37 years running the company. Safra Catz and Mark Hurd became co-CEOs, while Ellison became executive chairman and chief technology officer. Hurd died in 2019, and Catz later continued as Oracle's top executive before the company named new co-CEOs.

Although Ellison gave up the CEO title, he did not retire. He remained central to Oracle's product strategy, especially in database technology, cloud infrastructure, and artificial intelligence. Unlike many founders who leave daily operations, Ellison continued to be closely associated with Oracle's technical direction and competitive posture.

Oracle Stock, Dividends, and Net Worth

Ellison's fortune is overwhelmingly tied to Oracle. He has long owned a massive percentage of the company, and Oracle's stock price has been the single biggest driver of his net worth for decades. Stock buybacks have also helped increase the value of his stake over time by reducing the number of shares outstanding.

Oracle also pays dividends, which have generated enormous annual income for Ellison. Even when he does not sell stock, his Oracle shares can produce hundreds of millions of dollars in dividend income each quarter. Like many billionaires, Ellison has also pledged portions of his stock as collateral for personal credit lines, allowing him to access liquidity without necessarily selling large blocks of shares.

On September 10, 2025, Ellison briefly became the richest person in the world after a surge in Oracle's stock pushed his net worth above Elon Musk's for the first time. His fortune later fell back as Oracle shares fluctuated, but the moment was one of the most dramatic wealth-ranking changes in modern billionaire history.

Tesla Investment

Ellison has long been close with Elon Musk. In 2018, he disclosed that he had quietly acquired 3 million Tesla shares for roughly $1 billion. He joined Tesla's board in December 2018, shortly after Musk's "funding secured" controversy and the company's governance shakeup.

After Tesla's stock splits, Ellison's stake represented many more shares than his original purchase. During Tesla's extraordinary market run in 2020 and 2021, that investment became worth many billions of dollars. At various points, Ellison's Tesla stake was worth more than $10 billion and became one of the most successful outside investments of his career. He stepped down from Tesla's board in 2022.

Media and Family Investments

Ellison's fortune has also played a role in the media ambitions of his son, David Ellison. David founded Skydance Media, the film and television company behind major projects including entries in the "Mission: Impossible," "Top Gun," "Terminator," and "Star Trek" franchises. Larry Ellison's financial backing helped give Skydance the ability to compete at the highest levels of Hollywood.

David later became a major media executive through the merger of Skydance and Paramount. Larry Ellison's family trust became an important financial force behind the transaction, further extending the Ellison family's influence beyond software and into entertainment, television, streaming, and news.

(Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images)

Homes and Real Estate

Larry's real estate portfolio includes properties around the globe, including homes in Hawaii, Japan, Malibu, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, and Rhode Island. His primary residence is a 45-acre estate in Woodside, California, that is likely worth at least $200 million. The mansion is modeled after a 16th-century Japanese estate. It spans 45 acres and features a main house, a two-bedroom guest house, three cottages, a barn converted to a gym, and a 3-acre man-made lake that features two waterfalls. After the local township assessed his property at a value of $173 million and handed Ellison the tax bill, he challenged the value and won, receiving a 60% tax cut on his "$70 million" property.

Between 2004 and 2005, Larry spent $180 million to acquire 12 properties in Malibu, California. He spent $65 million on five contiguous properties on Malibu's ultra-exclusive Carbon Beach. In 2010, he spent $10.5 million to acquire the Astor family mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. In 2011, Larry spent $43 million to buy the 249-acre Porcupine Creek Estate golf course in Rancho Mirage, California.

In April 2021, Larry paid $80 million for a Palm Beach, Florida mansion. Situated on 7.35 acres of oceanfront property, the estate has a 15,500-square-foot mansion, several pools, a tennis court, and a sports center. In August 2022, he listed it for sale at $145 million.

Larry bought the Palm Beach mansion as his first step towards giving up his California residency. The longtime California resident had been openly frustrated by ever-increasing taxes and other intrusions on businesses.

By uprooting from California to Florida, Larry was no longer on the hook for California's Franchise Tax Board's 13% annual income tax rate. Over the last decade, Larry has received $1.7 billion in dividends from Oracle EVERY YEAR. By moving to Florida, he saves $230 million in taxes just on those dividend payments alone. That works out to $644,000 in savings every single day of Florida residency. At that rate, Larry paid for the entire $80 million cost of his new Florida mansion after just FOUR MONTHS.

Gemini

In June of 2022, Larry was revealed to be the purchaser of a 16-acre estate near Palm Beach, Florida, called Gemini. Larry paid $175 million for Gemini. The seller, fellow billionaire tech entrepreneur Jim Clark, bought the home 15 months earlier for $94 million. At the time of the sale, Larry's $175 million purchase price slid into third place on our list of the most expensive homes sold in US history. Here's a tour of Gemini:

Lanai

In June 2012, Larry spent $300 million to acquire 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai from the Castle & Cooke company. The remaining 2% is owned by the state of Hawaii. The purchase instantly became one of the most unusual billionaire real estate acquisitions in history.

With Lanai, Ellison acquired not only land but also hotels, infrastructure, commercial properties, and a major role in the future of the island. He invested heavily in infrastructure improvements, including roads, water systems, resort upgrades, and other local projects. He also backed Sensei, a wellness company connected to the Four Seasons Resort Lanai.

The Lanai purchase reflected Ellison's tendency to think at a scale far beyond ordinary luxury spending. Rather than buying another mansion or ranch, he bought nearly an entire Hawaiian island and attempted to reshape it around sustainability, hospitality, agriculture, and wellness.

Yachts, Planes, and Other Assets

Ellison is a lifelong sailor and aviation enthusiast. For many years, he owned the 454-foot yacht "Rising Sun," which reportedly cost around $200 million to build and was once one of the largest private yachts in the world. He later sold the yacht to music mogul David Geffen.

Ellison's Oracle Team USA won the America's Cup in 2010 and again in 2013. The 2013 victory was especially famous because Oracle Team USA staged one of the greatest comebacks in sailing history, rallying from an 8-1 deficit to defeat Emirates Team New Zealand.

Ellison has also owned multiple private jets, including Gulfstream aircraft, as well as military-style planes. His collection has included a decommissioned Soviet MiG-29 and an SIAI-Marchetti S.211. He has not been permitted to fly the MiG-29 in the United States because the government classifies it as a weapon of war.

Indian Wells

A passionate tennis fan, Ellison bought the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and the Indian Wells Masters tournament in 2009. The event, also known as the BNP Paribas Open, is one of the most prestigious tournaments outside the four Grand Slams. Ellison invested heavily in upgrading the venue, improving player facilities, expanding amenities, and turning the tournament into one of the premier stops on the tennis calendar.

Philanthropy

Ellison has signed The Giving Pledge and has stated an intention to give away the vast majority of his wealth. His philanthropy has focused heavily on medical research, health care, and technology-driven science.

In 2016, he donated $200 million to the University of Southern California to establish the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC. The institute was created to support cancer research and bring together scientists, doctors, engineers, and technology experts. The organization later evolved into the Ellison Institute of Technology, with ambitions extending into health, food security, clean energy, and artificial intelligence.

Personal Life

Ellison has been married several times. He was married to Adda Quinn from 1967 to 1974, Nancy Wheeler Jenkins from 1977 to 1978, Barbara Boothe from 1983 to 1986, and romance novelist Melanie Craft from 2003 to 2010. Steve Jobs, one of Ellison's closest friends, served as the official wedding photographer when Ellison married Craft.

Ellison has two well-known children from his marriage to Barbara Boothe. His son, David Ellison, is the founder of Skydance Media and became one of the most powerful executives in Hollywood through the Paramount Skydance deal. His daughter, Megan Ellison, founded Annapurna Pictures, the production company behind critically acclaimed films including "Zero Dark Thirty," "Her," "American Hustle," "Phantom Thread," and "The Master."

Ellison has spent his life cultivating the image of a brilliant, combative, risk-taking billionaire founder. His interests include tennis, sailing, aviation, Japanese architecture, luxury real estate, and technology. More than four decades after founding Oracle, he remains one of the richest and most influential entrepreneurs in the world.

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