The Oracle of Oracle

by Florence M. Stone

"Depending on who you're talking to, Oracle's founder and CEO Larry Ellison is an arrogant promoter who borrows heavily from the ideas of others - or a visionary leader who knows how to turn a neglected idea into a stunning market success. He's a ruthless businessman who's not above kicking a rival that's down - or a formidable competitor who simply plays by the rules of the day. He's a filthy rich playboy with an outsized fleet of cars, boats, and planes - or a shrewd marketer with a knack for generating reams of publicity.". "As you might suspect, Ellison is all of these things, which is what makes him one of the most talked-about yet enigmatic executives in American business. But behind the boats and braggadocio is the fact that Ellison and his company have been phenomenally successful, with Oracle holding the spot as the second largest software company in the world (surpassed by Microsoft - much to the chagrin of Ellison, of course).". "How did Ellison do it? How did he propel this