Does anyone remember when Larry Ellison was just the co-founder of Oracle? Well, last September, things changed drastically. At 81 years old, this guy found himself as the richest man in the world, surpassing Elon Musk in a single day. His wealth skyrocketed to $393 billion. All thanks to Oracle announcing contracts worth hundreds of billions, including a $300 billion collaboration with OpenAI. The stock price jumped 40% in one day.

But how did he get there? Ellison’s story is that of a true rebel. Born in the Bronx in 1944 to a teenage mother who couldn’t support him, he was entrusted to his aunt. He dropped out of college twice, then moved around the United States working as a freelance programmer. In Berkeley, he found his place, amid counterculture and technological innovation. In the early 1970s, he worked at Ampex on a project for the CIA: a database system called Oracle. In 1977, at 32, he invested $2,000 with colleagues Bob Miner and Ed Oates to found Software Development Laboratories. They took that name, Oracle, and the rest is history. In 1986, Oracle was listed on Nasdaq.

Ellison isn’t a technology inventor; he’s a commercial visionary. He understood the value of databases before others and had the courage to risk everything. For forty years, he led Oracle through glory and crisis, always staying at the center of the company. When cloud computing arrived, Oracle lagged behind Amazon and Microsoft, but thanks to its databases and its knowledge of enterprise clients, it maintained a unique position. Then generative AI arrived, and Ellison made his smart move: massive investments in data centers and AI infrastructure. Oracle transformed from a historic software company into an outsider in AI infrastructure.

But Ellison isn’t just work. At 81, he’s still an ageless rebel. He owns 98% of Lanai Island in Hawaii, along with extremely luxurious yachts, but he lives with almost monastic discipline. In the 1990s and 2000s, he trained for hours every day, drank only water and green tea, following a strict diet. That’s why he looks twenty years younger than his peers. Sailing is his passion: in 2013, his Oracle Team USA won the America’s Cup in a historic comeback. In 2018, he founded SailGP, a league of high-speed catamarans that attracts investors like Anne Hathaway and Mbappé. Tennis? He revived Indian Wells—now the fifth Slam.

As for his love life, Ellison has had four marriages and numerous flings. In 2024, he quietly married Jolin Zhu, a Chinese woman who is 47 years younger than him. The news came from a document from the University of Michigan that mentioned a donation from Larry Ellison and his wife Jolin. Jolin Zhu was born in Shenyang, Cina, and graduated from the University of Michigan. Some people joke that Ellison loves both surfing and love, and for him, both seem equally irresistible. His marriage to his wife brought his private life back into the spotlight, but Ellison remains true to his style: always at the center of the action, never willing to compromise.

His son David Ellison has recently bought Paramount Global for $8 billion, of which $6 billion came from the Ellison family. The father dominates Silicon Valley; the son dominates Hollywood: two generations building an empire between technology and media. Politically, Ellison is always in the picture: he funds Republicans and has donated millions to candidates like Marco Rubio and Tim Scott. In January 2026, he appeared at the White House with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and Sam Altman of OpenAI to announce a $500 billion AI data center network.

On philanthropy, he signed the Giving Pledge in 2010, committing to donate 95% of his wealth. But unlike Gates and Buffett, he prefers to act independently. He donated $200 million to USC for a cancer research center. Recently, he announced that part of his wealth will go to the Ellison Institute of Technology with Oxford for research on medicine, food, and climate. His philanthropic style is very personal: he doesn’t like to join others—he prefers to shape the future according to his own vision.

At 81, Larry Ellison is finally the richest man in the world. Starting from a CIA contract, he built a global database empire, and with sharp business acumen, secured a leading role in the AI era. Wealth, power, marriages, sports, and philanthropy: his life has never been short on topics. He is Silicon Valley’s old rebel—stubborn and combative, never willing to compromise. The title of richest man could change again, but for now, Ellison has proved that in the AI era, the legend of the tech titans is far from over.