Od the Edge to the Throne: Larry Ellison, his wife, and the journey to becoming the richest person in the world

In September 2025, Larry Ellison, the 81-year-old veteran of Silicon Valley, wrote another chapter in his extraordinary business saga. On that day, the fortune of this Oracle founder and major shareholder skyrocketed by over $100 billion, propelling him to the position of the richest person on the planet. However, behind these spectacular numbers lies a man whose personal life has been as dramatic as his corporate trajectory — a man who recently married Chinese businesswoman Jolin Zhu, nearly 50 years his junior, once again proving to himself and the world that he does not give up sometimes.

From Abandonment to Breakthrough: How a Homeless Kid Found His Mission

Elegies are always difficult. Larry Ellison began life as abandoned — his 19-year-old mother couldn’t raise him, so at just nine months old, she placed him in the care of his aunt in Chicago. His adoptive father worked in a government office, earning modestly. It was a family struggling with finances, completely deprived of the privileges usually associated with the wealthiest in the world.

His education was not easy. He got into the University of Illinois but dropped out after his second year, struggling with personal tragedy and lack of motivation. Similarly at the University of Chicago — one semester, and he already disagreed with the system. This pattern — opposition to convention — would define him throughout his life.

After leaving university, Ellison wandered across the United States, working part-time as a programmer. It was a purposeless period, full of doubts. However, when he arrived in Berkeley, California, in the 70s, something changed. He found himself at the epicenter of the countercultural revival, among people who — as he described — “seemed freer and wiser.”

CIA Project and the Birth of the Data Empire

The breakthrough came when Ellison took a job at Ampex Corporation, a company involved in data processing and digital content storage. There, he worked on a project for the CIA codenamed “Oracle” — a database system that could enable agencies to efficiently search and manage an unimaginable amount of information.

It was a moment when Ellison didn’t discover new technology but something equally valuable — he saw business potential where others saw only an academic exercise. In 1977, at age 32, he co-founded Software Development Laboratories (SDL) with his former colleagues — Bob Miner and Ed Oates — investing just $2,000 (of which Ellison contributed $1,200).

Their vision was ambitious: take experience from the CIA project and relational database models, then create a universal, commercial system that any corporation could use. They named it directly: “Oracle.” In 1986, when Oracle debuted on NASDAQ, it became a new star in the enterprise software market. This was not the end of the story — it was only its beginning.

Leadership Portrait: The CEO Who Never Laid Down

For forty years, Ellison was the soul of Oracle. He held almost every leadership role — CEO from 1978 to 1996, Chairman of the Board between 1990 and 1992. When things got complicated, when Oracle lost ground to Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure in the cloud race, Ellison pushed the company forward again.

This man had an unyielding spirit — even in 1992, nearly losing his life while surfing, he didn’t let fear stop his ambitions. He returned, took a leave of absence, and led the company for another ten years. In 2014, he finally resigned as CEO but remained chairman of the board — he never completely stepped away.

Revival: AI as Ellison’s Second Child

However, spring 2025 brought Ellison something that could be called “a delayed victory.” Oracle announced the signing of four major contracts, including a spectacular five-year deal with OpenAI worth $300 billion. When Wall Street heard the news, Oracle’s stock soared over 40% in one day — the biggest increase since 1992.

What happened? Oracle transformed from a “traditional database giant” into a strategic player in the era of generative AI. In summer 2025, the company conducted layoffs — several thousand from traditional software divisions — to reallocate resources to data centers and AI infrastructure. Sudden, ruthless, but strategically brilliant. Oracle discovered a “late ticket,” as industry commentators called it, and this time, it was ready to use it.

The Ellison Family: From Silicon Valley to Hollywood

Ellison’s empire is not limited to technology. His son, David Ellison, made a bold move just a year ago, taking over Hollywood by acquiring Paramount Global — owner of CBS and MTV — for $8 billion, of which $6 billion came from the Ellison family fund. It was a strategic maneuver: technology in the West, content in the East.

Father in Silicon Valley, son on the screens — together building an empire cloaked in the Ellison brand.

Politics and Influence: Money as a Tool of Power

On the political stage, Ellison has always been active. For decades, he supported the Republican Party, like many tech magnates. In 2015, he financed Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign; in 2022, he donated $15 million to the Super PAC of Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina. Last year, in January, he appeared at the White House with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, announcing the construction of a massive AI data center network worth $500 billion.

It was not just a business meeting — it was a demonstration of power. Oracle’s technology will be the backbone of this infrastructure. For Ellison, business and politics have always been intrinsically linked.

Spirit Athlete: The Łódź Sailor Playing Tennis

Why does an 81-year-old have the energy of a man half his age? Elegies are his second path.

Ellison was obsessed with water and wind. He owned 98% of Lanai Island in Hawaii, several properties in California, and some of the best yachts in the world. In 2013, his sponsored team Oracle Team USA made a spectacular comeback in the America’s Cup regattas — one of the greatest comebacks in sailing history. Today, he sponsors the SailGP catamaran league, attracting investors like Anne Hathaway and Kylian Mbappé.

Tennis is his other great passion. He revived the tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, now called the “fifth Grand Slam.” But sport is not just a hobby — it was a survival strategy. Former colleagues recall that in the 90s and 2000s, Ellison spent several hours daily practicing. He drank only water and green tea. His diet was monitored with military precision.

This discipline gave him a superpower: at 81, he still exudes energy, as his friends say, “younger by twenty years than his peers.”

Larry Ellison Married — for the Fifth Time

However, in his personal life, Ellison never found stability. Four marriages were not enough. In 2024, during a private ceremony, he married Jolin Zhu, a businesswoman from Shenyang, China, nearly 50 years his junior.

Jolin Zhu graduated from the University of Michigan. News of their marriage surfaced through a university document listing “Larry Ellison and his wife Jolin” as donors. The internet erupted with humor: Ellison loves surfing and falling in love — both waves and love are equally captivating.

This fifth marriage revealed something profound — that even for a man who controls a billion-dollar empire, love remains an unpredictable adventure he still wants to play.

Philanthropist Without a Team: Donating 95% for the Future

In 2010, Ellison signed the “Giving Pledge,” committing to donate at least 95% of his wealth to charity. However, unlike Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, he never wanted to work in groups. In an interview with The New York Times, he said outright: “I cherish solitude and don’t want to be influenced by others’ ideas.”

In 2016, he donated $200 million to the University of Southern California for a cancer research center. Recently, he announced a partnership with Oxford University on the Ellison Institute of Technology, focusing on medicine, food, and climate.

“We want to design a new generation of life-saving drugs, build low-cost agricultural systems, and develop efficient, clean energy,” he wrote on social media. Ellison’s philanthropy is deeply personal. He doesn’t build institutions — he builds the future according to his visions.

Epithalamium for the Old Rebel: Larry Ellison in September 2025

At age 81, Larry Ellison has finally reached the throne of the most genuine magnates of the world. He started with a CIA contract, built a global database empire, missed the beginning of the cloud era, but thanks to artificial intelligence, he’s back in the game.

Wealth, power, marriages, sports, philanthropy — his life has never lacked drama. He is an old rebel from Silicon Valley — courteous, resilient, evolving. This throne may change owners tomorrow, but today, Larry Ellison proved to the world: in an era when AI changes everything, the legend of the old guard of tech tycoons still lives — and his wife from China has just joined his extraordinary journey.