Larry Ellison at 81: from orphan without fortune to billionaire with a new spouse

In September 2025, Larry Ellison reached a milestone few could have imagined: becoming the richest man on the planet. His fortune surged explosively, surpassing Elon Musk by more than $100 billion in just days. But what made this moment even more remarkable was that it coincided precisely with Ellison getting remarried, demonstrating that at 81 years old, the Oracle co-founder was still writing unexpected chapters in his life. His wealth hit $393 billion, leaving Musk with $385 billion. What is Larry Ellison’s secret to never stopping?

From Homeless Child to Silicon Valley Titan

Ellison’s story begins far from the business glamour. Born in 1944 in the Bronx, he was given up by his biological mother at nine months old to an aunt in Chicago. He grew up in a resource-limited family, with a father who worked for the government. His time at university was brief: he left the University of Illinois after his adoptive mother died, then dropped out of the University of Chicago after one semester.

Without academic credentials, Ellison traveled across the United States seeking purpose. He worked in programming in Chicago and then moved to Berkeley, California, a place he found “more free and intelligent.” The pivotal moment came in the 1970s when he worked for Ampex Corporation on a key project: designing a database system for the CIA under the code name “Oracle.” In 1977, at age 32, Ellison and investor colleagues invested just $2,000 ($1,200 of his own money) to found Software Development Laboratories. Their vision was clear: commercialize database technology. Oracle became his creation, going public in 1986 as a star in enterprise software. Although he didn’t invent the technology, he was among the first to recognize its commercial potential.

Successive Marriages: The Pattern of a Constantly Searching Magnate

Larry Ellison’s personal life defies convention. He has been married five times, each union reflecting different facets of his adventurous and restless nature. In 2024, he again surprised by quietly marrying Jolin Zhu, a Chinese woman 47 years his junior, a graduate of the University of Michigan. The news emerged discreetly through a document from that institution mentioning a donation from “Larry Ellison and his spouse Jolin.”

This marriage again revealed a pattern in Ellison: his inability to stay still. Just as he chases waves in the ocean and experiments with new sports, he continually seeks new life partners. He’s not simply a “playboy” in the traditional sense but a man in perpetual pursuit of new challenges, including romantic ones. Some observers joke that Ellison loves both the waves and falling in love—a dichotomy that captures the essence of his existence: never satisfied, always in motion.

Business Transformation: From Behind to AI Leader

While his personal life continued its adventurous course, Oracle underwent dramatic changes. After falling behind Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure in cloud computing, the company seemed to be in decline. However, in September 2025, Oracle announced colossal contracts, including a $300 billion five-year deal with OpenAI. Shares soared over 40% in a single day—the biggest jump since 1992.

The key was Ellison’s repositioning. While laying off thousands of employees from traditional divisions, he invested heavily in AI infrastructure. Oracle became an essential provider during the explosion of generative AI, reclaiming a role that seemed lost. It was a mature comeback, a late triumph that led the market to recognize Oracle as the “AI infrastructure surprise”: an old company that managed to reinvent itself in a new era.

Family Empire, Political Power, and Personal Philanthropy

Ellison’s wealth extended beyond the individual. His son David acquired Paramount Global (parent company of CBS and MTV) for $8 billion, with $6 billion in family support. Thus, the father in technology and the son in entertainment built a two-pillar empire.

In politics, Ellison is not an observer. He has generously donated to the Republican Party, funding presidential campaigns and contributing $150 million to a Super PAC. In January 2026, he appeared at the White House alongside leaders from SoftBank and OpenAI to announce a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure.

Regarding philanthropy, Ellison signed the “Giving Pledge” in 2010, committing to donate 95% of his fortune. But unlike Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, he avoids collective activism. He prefers to design initiatives independently. In 2016, he donated $200 million to the University of Southern California for cancer research. Recently, he announced the Ellison Institute of Technology (in collaboration with Oxford University) to research medicine, agriculture, and clean energy. His philanthropy reflects his character: solitary, authentic, personal.

The Adventurer Who Never Ages

At 81, Larry Ellison owns 98% of Lanai Island in Hawaii, world-class yachts, and obsessions that defy age. Surfing nearly killed him in 1992, but he couldn’t give up the adrenaline. He pivoted to sailing, sponsoring Oracle Team USA in an epic America’s Cup comeback in 2013. He founded SailGP, a catamaran league that attracted investors like Anne Hathaway and Kylian Mbappé.

His secret to youth: extreme self-discipline. In the 1990s and 2000s, Ellison spent hours daily exercising, drank only water and green tea, and maintained a strict diet. Now, at 81, he looks “twenty years younger than his peers.” Sports are not just hobbies but a way of life. He revitalized the Indian Wells tennis tournament, considered the “fifth Grand Slam.”

Conclusion: The Legend Continues

Larry Ellison, at 81, has finally reached the summit as the world’s richest man. From an abandoned orphan to a global magnate, from cloud laggard to AI leader, from billionaire to husband of a new spouse: his life proves that tech titans don’t age—they simply evolve. His adventurous spirit permeates everything: business, sports, marriages. In an era where AI is transforming everything, Ellison has shown that the legend of the Silicon Valley rebel continues to write unexpected chapters. The throne of the world’s richest man may change, but Ellison’s ability to reinvent himself seems inexhaustible.