Photo: Hartmann Studios/Oracle PR
There’s a difference between the billionaires of showbiz and the billionaires in the tech industry in that the latter don’t rely on exposure to boost or maintain sales. Larry Ellison, founder and former CEO of Oracle Corporation, is a great example in this sense.
As of June 2022, Ellison is worth a reported $89 billion, which makes him the 11th richest man in the world. He owns a vast portfolio of real estate and shares in various companies (including Tesla), is an active philanthropist, and, more relevant to our interests, a reportedly notorious car collector. He also owns his own private island, which is also the sixth-largest island in Hawaii, so it would make sense to host at least part of said famed auto collection there.
If he does, there’s little chance we’re going to find out about it or, at least, not directly so. Ellison is also famously private, so except for a few bits and pieces along the years, there’s a little fact to back up the urban legend that he’s an exotics collector. We do know that he used to own a McLaren F1 because it sold for $3,575,000 at auction in 2005 and that he also owns – or used to own – an Audi R8, an Acura NSX, which he called his favorite car, and a Lexus LFA.
Bloomberg recently did an expose on his ownership of Lanai, his private island that he bought in 2012 for $300 million, and in between details about how he’s run every local business out and how he never seemingly lived up to the original promise of turning Lanai into a sustainable paradise, there’s this: his daily on the island is a “bright orange Corvette.” It’s the only sign locals get of his presence on the island because some of them have never met him, even though they have been trying to, in an official capacity, for the better part of the last decade.
As far as sustainability on Lanai, Ellison has installed a Tesla supercharging station, which he probably hardly ever uses, since he’s a Corvette kind of guy. But Ellison is also close with Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, and has had him over as a guest at least on a couple of occasions, so the supercharger is probably put to use then. Lanai also has a hydroponic farm and counts on the help of “academics to do things like track rainfall,” the publication notes.
Ellison never quite got into the details of his sustainability plans with Lanai, and it makes sense if you think about it: it’s his island, and he can not talk about it if he’s not in the mood for it. David Agus, Ellison’s partner in Sensei, says that the goal is to “include education and the overall local economy as well as food and energy,” with benefits for both locals and visitors.
Until that happens, the takeaway is that one of the world’s most private billionaires and passionate car collectors drives an orange Corvette. And maybe a Tesla, on occasion.
If he does, there’s little chance we’re going to find out about it or, at least, not directly so. Ellison is also famously private, so except for a few bits and pieces along the years, there’s a little fact to back up the urban legend that he’s an exotics collector. We do know that he used to own a McLaren F1 because it sold for $3,575,000 at auction in 2005 and that he also owns – or used to own – an Audi R8, an Acura NSX, which he called his favorite car, and a Lexus LFA.
Bloomberg recently did an expose on his ownership of Lanai, his private island that he bought in 2012 for $300 million, and in between details about how he’s run every local business out and how he never seemingly lived up to the original promise of turning Lanai into a sustainable paradise, there’s this: his daily on the island is a “bright orange Corvette.” It’s the only sign locals get of his presence on the island because some of them have never met him, even though they have been trying to, in an official capacity, for the better part of the last decade.
As far as sustainability on Lanai, Ellison has installed a Tesla supercharging station, which he probably hardly ever uses, since he’s a Corvette kind of guy. But Ellison is also close with Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, and has had him over as a guest at least on a couple of occasions, so the supercharger is probably put to use then. Lanai also has a hydroponic farm and counts on the help of “academics to do things like track rainfall,” the publication notes.
Ellison never quite got into the details of his sustainability plans with Lanai, and it makes sense if you think about it: it’s his island, and he can not talk about it if he’s not in the mood for it. David Agus, Ellison’s partner in Sensei, says that the goal is to “include education and the overall local economy as well as food and energy,” with benefits for both locals and visitors.
Until that happens, the takeaway is that one of the world’s most private billionaires and passionate car collectors drives an orange Corvette. And maybe a Tesla, on occasion.
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