Larry Ellison spent almost fifty years building Oracle into one of the world’s most valuable software companies, and in 2026 he is doing something few tech founders his age still do: making bigger bets than ever. He is Oracle’s executive chairman and chief technology officer, and the company he founded in 1977 supplies much of the infrastructure and software that major organizations use to store, manage, and analyze data. Today, though, Ellison’s name shows up in headlines almost as often for artificial intelligence data centers and a headline-grabbing media acquisition as it does for Oracle’s database business. This article looks at how he got here, what has happened in 2026, and what questions readers are asking most about him right now.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Lawrence Joseph Ellison |
| Born | August 17, 1944, New York City |
| Education | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Chicago (did not graduate from either) |
| Known for | Co-founder, executive chairman, and CTO of Oracle Corporation |
| Net worth (estimated, 2026) | Roughly $185–260 billion, depending on the source and date, due to sharp swings in Oracle’s stock |
| Spouses | Adda Quinn, Nancy Wheeler Jenkins, Barbara Boothe, Melanie Craft, Nikita Kahn, and Jolin Zhu (current) |
| Children | Six, including David Ellison and Megan Ellison |
Net worth figures are estimates only and change daily with Oracle’s stock price; they should not be treated as confirmed or fixed amounts.
Early Life: An Adopted Child in Chicago
Larry Ellison was born in the Bronx, New York, on August 17, 1944, to a single mother named Florence Spellman. When he was nine months old, he became seriously ill with pneumonia, and his mother could not care for him on her own. She sent him to Chicago to be raised by her aunt and uncle, Lillian and Louis Ellison, who later adopted him. Several sources note that Ellison did not learn he was adopted until he was around twelve years old, and that the news affected him deeply. His relationship with his adoptive parents was uneven: reports describe his adoptive father as a strict, often critical man who had lost his own business during the Great Depression, while his adoptive mother was warmer and closer to him emotionally.
Ellison showed an early talent for math and science, and after high school he enrolled at the University of Illinois, where he was reportedly named science student of the year. He left partway through, however, and later spent a brief period at the University of Chicago before dropping out again without a degree. In the 1960s he moved to California, where he worked a series of technical jobs and, according to several accounts, spent time programming database systems, including work connected to a CIA project. That early database experience would end up shaping the rest of his career.
Founding Oracle and Building a Database Empire
In 1977, Ellison co-founded a company called Software Development Laboratories along with two colleagues, Bob Miner and Ed Oates. The small startup built one of the first commercial relational database systems, a way of organizing and retrieving data that became the technical backbone of much of modern computing. The company changed its name more than once before settling on Oracle, a name pulled from the CIA project the founders had worked on earlier in their careers.
Oracle grew quickly through the 1980s and 1990s as businesses adopted database software to manage growing amounts of information. Ellison served as chief executive for decades, pushing the company into new markets, including enterprise software and business applications, often through aggressive acquisitions of competitors. The ride was not smooth. In the early 1990s, Oracle nearly went bankrupt after accounting problems led to a steep drop in its stock price and a wave of lawsuits. Ellison stayed on, restructured the company’s finances, and led a recovery that turned Oracle into one of the most dominant software companies in the world. He stepped down as CEO in 2014, handing the role to Safra Catz and Mark Hurd, but he remained closely involved as executive chairman and chief technology officer, a position he still holds today.
The 2026 AI Boom and Oracle’s Costly Bet
Oracle’s most dramatic transformation has happened only in the past two years, as the company repositioned itself as a major supplier of computing power for artificial intelligence. In early 2025, Ellison appeared at the White House alongside President Donald Trump, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman to unveil a massive project to build AI data centers across the United States. That project, known as Stargate, later grew into one of the largest cloud computing contracts ever signed. Oracle disclosed in an SEC filing that it had signed a deal worth about $30 billion a year in revenue, later confirmed to be with OpenAI, covering roughly 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity as part of the Stargate buildout.
This growth has come at a steep cost. Oracle’s capital spending in fiscal 2026 reached roughly $55.7 billion, its free cash flow swung sharply negative, and the company took on more than $100 billion in debt to finance its expansion. Ellison has downplayed investor concerns about the spending, arguing on earnings calls that demand for AI infrastructure remains extremely high. The bet has made Ellison’s fortune unusually volatile. He climbed close to the number-two spot on global wealth rankings in June 2026 with a net worth near $300 billion, only to see Oracle’s shares fall sharply over the following months, wiping out more than $100 billion of that wealth. By several 2026 estimates, his fortune has ranged anywhere from about $185 billion to $260 billion depending on the week and the source, a reminder of just how tied his wealth is to a single stock.
The Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery Deal
The other defining story of Ellison’s 2026 has nothing to do with software. His son, David Ellison, runs Paramount Skydance, and the elder Ellison has personally financed much of the company’s pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of HBO, CNN, and the Warner Bros. film studio. After Paramount lost an early bidding round to Netflix, it returned with a sweetened, hostile offer. Larry Ellison agreed to personally guarantee $40.4 billion of the equity financing behind Paramount’s bid, and Paramount published records confirming that the Ellison family trust holds about 1.16 billion Oracle shares to back the commitment. That guarantee proved decisive. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery eventually reached a definitive merger agreement under which Paramount would acquire WBD for $31.00 per share in cash, a deal unanimously approved by both companies’ boards.
The deal still faced obstacles well into September 2026. Paramount had to settle an antitrust lawsuit brought by a coalition of state attorneys general, agreeing to concessions including guardrails around CNN and financial penalties tied to a commitment to release a set number of theatrical films each year, in order to clear the final hurdle to closing. Separately, regulators approved a large infusion of foreign capital to help finance the transaction, with the merged company expected to be nearly half-owned by foreign sovereign wealth funds, though structured as non-voting shares. With that settlement reached just days ago, the roughly $110 billion acquisition appears close to finally closing after a year of public battling, and it stands as one of the most closely watched media deals in years, one made possible almost entirely by Ellison’s personal fortune.
Personal Life
Ellison’s private life has drawn nearly as much attention as his business career. He has been married six times: to Adda Quinn from 1967 to 1974, Nancy Wheeler Jenkins from 1977 to 1978, Barbara Boothe from 1983 to 1986, novelist Melanie Craft from 2003 to 2010, model and activist Nikita Kahn from 2015 to 2020, and, most recently, Jolin Zhu since 2023. Zhu, also known as Zhu Keren, is a Chinese-born graduate of the University of Michigan who is roughly 47 years younger than Ellison. Their marriage remained private for some time. News of it only became public in November 2024, when a University of Michigan donor group referred to Zhu as Ellison’s wife in a statement thanking the couple for their support. His two eldest children, David and Megan Ellison, both work in the entertainment industry; David now leads Paramount Skydance, while Megan is a film producer known for founding Annapurna Pictures.
Outside business, Ellison has long been known for competitive sailing, and his Oracle Team USA won the America’s Cup more than once. He also owns nearly all of the Hawaiian island of Lanai, which he purchased for around $300 million in 2012.
Philanthropy
Ellison’s charitable giving has drawn a mixed reputation, since it has historically been smaller relative to his fortune than that of some other billionaires, though he has still given substantial sums over time. His largest and most visible gift came in 2016, when he donated $200 million to establish the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine at the University of Southern California, a center combining interdisciplinary research with cancer prevention and treatment, led by physician David Agus. He signed the Giving Pledge, committing to eventually give away the majority of his wealth, and his foundation has also funded efforts in areas including conservation, education, and global health.
How This Was Researched
I researched this biography using public reference sources, official filings related to the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal, and recent verified news coverage. Where net worth figures or personal details varied between sources, I noted the range rather than picking one number as certain. Many existing profiles of Ellison stop at his Oracle career or his past marriages; this article tries to fill that gap by covering the 2026 AI infrastructure spending and the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal in detail, since those are the developments readers are actively searching for right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Larry Ellison?
Ellison was born on August 17, 1944, making him 82 years old as of 2026.
What is Larry Ellison’s net worth in 2026?
Estimates vary widely because his wealth is tied closely to Oracle’s stock price, but 2026 figures have placed it anywhere between roughly $185 billion and $260 billion over the course of the year.
Is Larry Ellison still involved with Oracle?
Yes. He stepped down as CEO in 2014 but remains executive chairman and chief technology officer, and he is still Oracle’s largest shareholder.
Who is Larry Ellison’s wife?
He is currently married to Jolin Zhu, whom he wed in 2023, though the marriage was not publicly confirmed until late 2024.
How is Larry Ellison connected to the Warner Bros. Discovery deal?
His son David Ellison leads Paramount Skydance, and Larry Ellison personally guaranteed tens of billions of dollars in financing that allowed Paramount to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
Accuracy Note
This biography is based on publicly available information, including verified news coverage and public records. If you spot anything outdated or incorrect, please let us know so we can update it.
Written and researched by Hassan, contributor at ntx magazine.
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Written by Hassan, founder and editor of NTX Magazine — an independent news and biography publication. Every article is researched and cross-checked against multiple public sources before publishing; see our Sourcing Standards page for details.
