Early Life and Education
Larry Ellison was born on August 17, 1944, in New York City. After contracting pneumonia at a young age, he was adopted by his aunt and uncle, Lillian and Louis Ellison, and raised in Chicago. Ellison attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was named science student of the year, but he dropped out before completing his degree. He later attended the University of Chicago for a term before moving to California.
Rise to Success
Ellison began his career as a computer programmer, working for various companies before co-founding Software Development Laboratories (SDL) in 1977 with Bob Miner and Ed Oates. SDL developed Oracle, the first commercial relational database program to use Structured Query Language. The company was renamed Oracle Systems Corporation in 1982. Ellison served as Oracle's CEO for 37 years, stepping down in 2014 but remaining as CTO and Executive Chairman.
Key Business Strategies
Ellison's leadership at Oracle focused on innovation and strategic acquisitions. Under his guidance, Oracle acquired numerous companies, including Sun Microsystems, expanding its portfolio to cloud computing and hardware. His emphasis on database technology and enterprise applications propelled Oracle to become a major player in the software industry. Ellison also made significant investments in real estate, including the acquisition of nearly all of the Hawaiian island of Lanai.
Philanthropy
Ellison is committed to philanthropy and has signed The Giving Pledge, promising to donate the majority of his wealth to charitable causes. His philanthropic efforts are primarily channeled through the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), which focuses on global challenges including healthcare, food insecurity, climate change, and AI research. He has also donated to medical research, including establishing the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC.