As Larry Ellison entered his nineties in 2024, many expected his flamboyant lifestyle to quiet down. The future seemed to lean more towards significant philanthropy and less towards daring yacht races or playful aerial dogfights. Even legendary software moguls, it seems, eventually embrace a calmer pace.
However, in a surprising turn, Mr. Ellison has unexpectedly embarked on a new, ambitious path: becoming a media titan. His potential portfolio and influence could soon rival or even surpass legendary figures like Hearst and Pulitzer.
Oracle, the technology company Ellison co-founded and has steered for nearly fifty years, is now an investor in the new American version of TikTok. This popular short-video app boasts 170 million users across the U.S. As Oracle’s chief technology officer, Ellison maintains over 40 percent ownership of the company’s stock.
While many details of the new TikTok’s structure, including precise ownership stakes and leadership roles, are still undetermined, it’s widely anticipated that the app will be overseen by individuals who align with President Trump’s views. The President himself hinted in a recent Fox News interview that the Murdoch family, who own Fox News, would ‘probably’ also invest.
Previously, Congress mandated that ByteDance, the Chinese company, sell TikTok due to national security concerns. However, the enforcement of this law was postponed by Mr. Trump.
TikTok’s immense popularity among young audiences makes it an incredibly valuable asset. Oracle already provides cloud services for the app’s U.S. user data, but this new agreement could grant them access to the customer-facing aspects of the platform. Historically, Oracle’s most significant foray into consumer markets, the network computer in the 1990s, did not succeed.
TikTok represents just one piece of the Ellison family’s rapidly growing media portfolio. Larry’s son, David, recently finalized an $8 billion deal for Paramount and CBS, where he’s actively shaping their direction. Reports suggest he’s also preparing a considerably larger offer for Warner, which notably includes CNN.
At any other time, the regulatory obstacles to acquiring a media empire encompassing TikTok, CBS, CNN, and a large portion of Hollywood would have been impossible to overcome. However, the current era is unique, where President Trump’s favor holds significant weight. The President expressed in January his preference for either Elon Musk, then a close adviser, or Mr. Ellison to purchase TikTok.
Throughout the last century, influential American media has often been controlled by powerful families, though their reach was typically constrained by geographical or other limitations. For instance, the Chandler family, proprietors of The Los Angeles Times, wielded considerable influence in Southern California for decades but had little impact beyond that region. Similarly, while Rupert Murdoch owns both Fox and The Wall Street Journal, their editorial directions are not always aligned.
However, in today’s digital landscape, these traditional boundaries are rapidly disappearing.
Michael Socolow, a media historian at the University of Maine, observed that ‘Everything is consolidating.’ He further elaborated, ‘What makes these deals unique is their cross-platform nature. The ability to dictate a singular editorial stance across platforms like TikTok, CBS News, and CNN truly ushers in a new era.’
Paramount chose not to provide a comment.
Financial limitations, which often restrict media empires, are irrelevant for Mr. Ellison. Recently, his Oracle investments surged by approximately $100 billion, briefly positioning him as the world’s wealthiest individual. His current net worth stands at an astounding $367 billion, as reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, though Mr. Musk now holds a higher position.
At 81, Mr. Ellison has an unmatched longevity in Silicon Valley. In 1977, he co-founded Software Development Laboratories, later renamed Oracle, building it around its flagship database product.
More of a master salesman than a technical wizard, Ellison navigated Oracle through several close calls. Yet, unlike many software companies from its era, Oracle not only survived but thrived.
Ellison embodied the classic ‘work hard, play hard’ tech entrepreneur. His personal life includes multiple marriages and extensive real estate holdings, famously including the Hawaiian island of Lanai. He even owns a SIAI-Marchetti S.211 fighter jet, acquired from the Italian Navy, which he reportedly used for simulated dogfights with his son.
In a 2012 interview, Mr. Ellison quipped about people’s reactions upon meeting him: ‘Frequently, I’ll be in a meeting with someone and the person says, ‘Oh my god, you’re nothing like what I thought you’d be.’ Of course, it’s a low bar. I didn’t just bite the head off a small animal before the meeting.’
Historically, Mr. Ellison’s interest in media largely extended to using interviews in the 1990s to critique Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, his long-standing rival. Now, his son is reportedly in talks to acquire The Free Press, a new digital outlet known for challenging traditional news media. This publication, led by Bari Weiss — a former editor for The New York Times’ opinion section and occasional essayist — could see her gain oversight within CBS.
Ellison, who did not respond to requests for comment, continues to amass wealth at a pace that outstrips his philanthropic planning. Recently, he has been deeply involved in developing the Ellison Institute of Technology, a vast for-profit philanthropic venture at the University of Oxford, where he claimed he would ‘concentrate my resources.’ However, this research institute has recently faced considerable turmoil, mirroring challenges encountered in his past charitable endeavors.
Ellison has a consistent track record of altering his direction in charitable initiatives and parting ways with those appointed to manage them. Just this month, he separated from John Bell, a distinguished scientist hired only last year to spearhead E.I.T., whose involvement had immediately lent the project significant credibility.
The institute’s mission was to infuse Britain’s traditionally less commercial scientific culture with a more entrepreneurial spirit, by fostering numerous start-ups in life sciences and other innovative sectors.
Regarding Ellison, Mr. Bell remarked, ‘We don’t have anybody like him in the U.K.’ He added, ‘For him to come here and declare, ‘I’m going to build my legacy here in the U.K.,’ is genuinely an extraordinary move. He could have chosen any location in the world.’
In mid-August, Ellison appointed Santa Ono, former president of the University of Michigan, to a role seemingly superior to Mr. Bell’s. Ellison stated that Bell would ‘collaborate’ with Ono. However, just two weeks later, Bell publicly announced his exit, describing the institute as a ‘very challenging project.’
Sources close to the institute indicate that Mr. Ellison maintained a highly active role, frequently communicating with Mr. Bell and attending meetings at the Oxford offices. Tensions have emerged among the institute’s leadership concerning the optimal strategy for commercializing Ellison’s scientific research, compounded by ongoing uncertainties regarding the reliability of his financial commitments.