Larry Ellison co-founded Oracle in 1977 and built it into one of the world's largest enterprise-software and database companies. He remains chairman and chief technology officer and is Oracle's largest shareholder, owning roughly 41% of the company, whose fiscal 2025 revenue was about $57.4 billion.
Ellison is among the wealthiest people on earth -- briefly the richest in September 2025 amid an Oracle stock surge tied to AI-cloud demand, with estimates spiking near $393 billion before settling around $200 billion in early 2026. Oracle's expansion into AI data-center capacity has put Ellison at the center of the infrastructure powering the AI boom.
His influence now extends into media: he backed his son David Ellison's Skydance in its 2025 takeover of Paramount, and the Ellison family has been reported as a backer of further media consolidation, giving the family reach across both computing and content.
What they control
- Oracle: ~41% ownership; chairman and CTO
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and large AI data-center capacity
- Enterprise database and software used by governments and corporations worldwide
- Family backing of Skydance/Paramount media holdings
- Vast real-estate holdings (including most of the Hawaiian island of Lanai)
Key institutions & holdings
~$57.4 billion revenue (FY2025); central to AI-cloud buildout.
Funded son David Ellison's $8 billion Paramount takeover (closed 2025).
Key facts
- Net worth estimated around $200+ billion (early 2026); briefly the world's richest in September 2025.
- Co-founded Oracle in 1977; owns about 41%.
- Oracle's FY2025 revenue was about $57.4 billion.
- Backed Skydance's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount (closed 2025).
- Owns roughly 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai.
Timeline
- 1977Co-founds Oracle (then Software Development Laboratories).
- 2025-09-10Briefly becomes the world's richest person amid an Oracle stock surge.
- 2025Skydance, backed by Ellison, completes its $8 billion Paramount takeover.
Controversies
AI-cloud valuation and concentration · 2025-2026
Oracle's surging valuation on AI data-center contracts has raised questions about concentration and circular financing in the AI infrastructure boom.
Media and TikTok ties · 2024-2026
The Ellison family's expanding media role and Oracle's involvement in U.S. TikTok arrangements have drawn scrutiny over concentrated control of platforms and content.
Network
- David EllisonSonFounder of Skydance; now leads the Paramount media business.
- Safra CatzExecutive allyLongtime Oracle CEO / top executive.
- Elon MuskAllyInvestor and associate across ventures.
Why this matters
As AI runs on a small number of cloud and data-center providers, an individual who controls one of them -- and whose family also controls a major studio -- accumulates power over both the infrastructure of computing and the content people consume, with few checks on that combined reach.