Larry Ellison Biography
Larry Ellison is far from a run-of-the-mill businessman. Oracle is the world's leading supplier of software for information management and the world's second largest independent software company, boasting revenues of more than $9.7 billion. The huge success of the company makes Ellison one of the richest people in America. His drive, character and success motivated author Mike Wilson to write Ellison's biography entitled The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison. If you would like to uncover the details of Ellison's life, nasty to nice, the book is brutally straightforward regarding the man commonly referred to as the Other Software Billionaire.

Ellison is living proof that business is not something learned through academic textbooks, but rather an innate gift. A college dropout, Ellison is renowned for his impeccable business sense, drive and ambition. It's no surprise that in order to achieve Ellison's success, one must take huge risks and learn from mistakes made along the way. Was Ellison a risk taker?

Well what would you call someone that promises products with features that don't even exist, only to go back to developers and demand that they deliver these forthcoming products? What about hiring staff that are not qualified for their positions -- so unskilled, in fact, that they required manuals when chosen for their respective positions? Ellison deserves credit for that one as well.

Ellison also demanded at least 100 percent growth in sales of his company's software, a near impossible feat for a company that already boasts $100 to $500 million in sales. It would have been impossible for Oracle and Ellison, if it wasn't for some dodgy sales practices. This may be considered one of Ellison's mistakes as it negatively affected Oracle's business reputation. Although Ellison's high demands led to a highly stressful work environment, it also led to high productivity and Oracle's present success.

Oracle underwent some changes before becoming the multibillion-dollar corporation it is today. When first founded by Ellison, it was known as Software Development Laboratories and then reincarnated into Relational Technologies until it finally took on the name it is known as today; Oracle.

Larry Ellison presently sits on the board of Apple Computer (a company he once dreamed of taking over along with Steve Jobs) and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, while the many honors and awards he received include Entrepreneur of the Year form the Harvard School of Business.

As well as a billionaire, Ellison is also believed to be quite a multi-faceted character: playboy, world champion sailboat racer, sports nut, jet pilot, ruthless businessman, marketing genius, and avant-garde thinker. We weren't kidding when we said he is no ordinary businessman.