Larry Ellison marries for the fifth time: the downside of the world's largest fortune

In September 2025, at age 81, Larry Ellison climbed to become the richest man on the planet, eclipsing Elon Musk, who had occupied that throne for a long time. His fortune then exploded to reach $393 billion, surpassing that of his rival by some $8 billion. Yet less than a year later, Ellison is in the headlines again: this time for quietly marrying Jolin Zhu, a woman originally from China who is 47 years younger than him. This multimillionaire husband, with his fifth marriage to his name, embodies a fascinating paradox: that of a man who amasses infinite wealth but also multiple marital unions—swinging between strictest asceticism and the most flamboyant excesses.

This contrast between his insatiable pursuit of new wives and his financial peak raises a relevant question: how does a man so obsessed with eternal youth and self-discipline keep launching into new romantic adventures? The answer may lie in the kind of personality Larry Ellison has always cultivated: that of a perpetually young man who refuses to let age or convention dictate his destiny.

From a young orphan to a visionary CEO: the genesis of a database empire

Born in 1944 in the Bronx in New York, Larry Ellison experienced a rough start marked by abandonment. His biological mother, a single 19-year-old woman unable to raise him, entrusted him to his aunt in Chicago when he was only nine months old. With his adoptive father being just a civil servant, the Ellison family lived in precarious economic conditions. Those early years shaped his character: alone, determined, refusing fate.

Admitted to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ellison dropped out of his program in his second year after the death of his adoptive mother. He then tried the University of Chicago, but interrupted his studies again after a semester. Rather than wallow, the young man chose to travel. He crisscrossed the United States as a freelance programmer, first in Chicago, then heading toward California. Berkeley—an emerging counterculture hub and a technological stronghold—captivated him immediately. “People there seemed freer and smarter,” he would say.

It was in the early 1970s, during his stint at Ampex Corporation, a company specializing in audio-visual storage and data processing, that Ellison’s destiny took a decisive turn. As a programmer, he took part in a key project: designing a database system for the CIA capable of massively managing and querying data—a project that would carry a name that would become legendary: “Oracle.”

In 1977, at age 32, Ellison co-invested $2,000 with his former colleagues Bob Miner and Ed Oates (Ellison putting in $1,200 on his own) to create Software Development Laboratories (SDL). Their foundational decision: develop a universal commercial database system leveraging their CIA experience and the relational data model they had designed, calling it directly “Oracle.” In 1986, Oracle reached the NASDAQ and became a rising star in the enterprise software market.

Although Ellison wasn’t the inventor of database technology, he understood its commercial potential long before his competitors. It was this entrepreneurial instinct, combined with his willingness to stake his entire fortune, that made him an extraordinary founder. His 40+ years at the helm of Oracle reflect this stubborn, competitive personality: president from 1978 to 1996, first CEO from 1990 to 1992, he returned after a surfing accident in 1992 that nearly cost him his life. Until 2014, he guided the company before transferring the CEO role, while retaining the titles of executive chairman and chief technical officer to this day.

Oracle reinvented itself: how an AI strategy catapulted Larry Ellison to the top

For decades, Oracle dominated the database market, but the rise of cloud computing with Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure pushed it into catch-up. Many thought the data giant had missed its digital transformation. However, Larry Ellison saw where the wind was going.

On September 10, 2025, Oracle announced the signing of four contracts worth a total of several hundred billion dollars, including a $300 billion strategic partnership over five years with OpenAI. The market reacted immediately: the stock price jumped by more than 40% in a single session, the biggest one-day gain since 1992. What investors understood at once is that Oracle has precisely the critical infrastructure needed for the era of generative artificial intelligence.

This summer of 2025, Oracle carried out a massive restructuring affecting several thousand employees, including in hardware sales and in traditional software divisions. At the same time, the company accelerated its investments in data centers and AI infrastructure. Suddenly, the “old software vendor” transformed into a “dark horse in AI infrastructure.” This strategic shift is Larry Ellison’s digital fingerprint: the man who knows how to read the future and place his pieces ahead of competitors.

The market, hungry for the relentless demand for computing power for AI, finds in Oracle an indispensable partner. This privileged position, combined with the old contracts of its historic clients, propelled Ellison’s wealth to unprecedented heights and made him, on September 10, 2025, the richest man in the world. It’s less a win over Musk than a confirmation of the visionary instincts Ellison demonstrated over forty years.

The Ellison family: an empire spanning from Silicon Valley to Hollywood

Ellison’s growing fortune doesn’t stop at his personal wealth; it extends and amplifies within his family. His son, David Ellison, gives new momentum to this entrepreneurial trajectory by acquiring Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS and MTV, for $8 billion. For this transaction, David benefits from substantial financial support from his family, which contributes $6 billion. This strategic acquisition marks the expansion of the Ellison dynasty into entertainment and media.

While Larry Ellison rules Silicon Valley and critical technology infrastructure, David consolidates the family’s control over the film and television industry. The two generations weave together an empire stretching from data servers to Hollywood studios—an economic power diversification rarely matched.

On the political stage, Larry Ellison also isn’t discreet. He regularly supports the Republican Party and is a major political donor. In 2015, he funded Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign. In 2022, he gave $15 million to the super PAC of South Carolina senator Tim Scott. His influence extends all the way to the White House itself. In January 2026, he appeared alongside SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to announce the construction of a $500 billion-scale network of AI data centers. Oracle technology would form the core of this project, illustrating how Ellison’s economic power converts directly into political influence and the ability to shape global technological infrastructure.

At 81, Larry Ellison marries his fifth wife: between asceticism and passion

Ellison’s personal life presents fascinating contradictions. On one hand, he owns 98% of the land on the Hawaiian island of Lanai, several luxurious residences in California, and a fleet of high-end yachts. On the other hand, he practices a near-monastic level of personal discipline.

His obsession with water and wind dates back to his adventurous youth. In 1992, a surfing accident could have ended him, but instead of giving up, he doubled down on extreme sports. He gradually channels that energy into sailing. In 2013, the Oracle Team USA team he sponsors made a spectacular comeback during the America’s Cup, winning the trophy in what sailing historians consider one of the greatest turnarounds ever recorded.

In 2018, Ellison founded SailGP, an ultra-fast catamaran competition that today attracts prestigious investors: actress Anne Hathaway and football superstar Kylian Mbappé are among the backers. Tennis is another central passion. Ellison breathed new life into the Indian Wells tournament in California, repositioning it as the “fifth Grand Slam,” thereby granting international prestige to this California event.

These sports activities aren’t just hobbies for Ellison; they embody his secret of youth. Between 1990 and 2000, he devoted several hours each day to physical exercise. His diet: pure water and green tea—no sugary drinks—complete mastery of every calorie intake. This obsessive self-discipline allowed the septuagenarian to maintain a physical shape that some compare to that of a person two decades younger.

It’s in this context that news of his fifth marriage emerges. In 2024, Larry Ellison quietly marries Jolin Zhu, a woman of Chinese origin born in Shenyang and a graduate of the University of Michigan. At 47 years younger than him, Zhu represents a union that sparked ironic exchanges on social media. Some observers jokingly note that Ellison seems as drawn to the crest of waves as he is to romantic adventures, oscillating between extreme self-discipline on one side and marital passions on the other.

This fifth marriage illustrates a paradox: how can a man so rigorous in maintaining his body and his fortune keep embarking on new unions so regularly? Perhaps because for Ellison, eternal youth isn’t only a matter of physical health—it’s also an existential philosophy that rejects conformity and embraces new beginnings, whatever challenges they may bring.

Leaving 95% of his wealth: Larry Ellison’s personal philanthropy

In 2010, Larry Ellison signed the “donor vow,” formally committing to leave at least 95% of his wealth to philanthropic causes. However, unlike Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, he refuses to align himself with large-scale collective initiatives. In an interview with The New York Times, he explains that he “cherishes his solitude and does not accept being influenced by outside ideas.” This characteristic independence is reflected in his contributions.

In 2016, he gave $200 million to the University of Southern California to establish an oncology research center. More recently, he transferred a significant portion of his wealth to the Ellison Institute of Technology, a collaborative project with the University of Oxford aimed at exploring contemporary medical, food, and climate issues.

On social media, he lays out his vision: “We must design a new generation of life-saving medicines for humanity, build low-cost agricultural systems, and develop clean and efficient energy.” His philanthropy isn’t seeking collective visibility; it reflects his personal concerns and his desire to leave a lasting mark on global challenges.

Conclusion: the eternal refusal of decline

At 81, Larry Ellison remains living proof that a technology legend doesn’t fade with time. From the CIA contract that inspired him to the dominance of AI infrastructure that places him at the top of the world’s wealth, Ellison embodies a trajectory of strategic anticipation and an unyielding refusal to settle for mediocrity. His fifth wife at his side, his yachts docked at island coves, his colossal real-estate portfolio: everything suggests a man who has already won the game.

Yet his true triumph lies elsewhere. It lies in his ability to rethink Oracle at the moment when the world judged it obsolete. It lies in his unmatched understanding of the global technology trajectory. It lies in the family empire stretching from the silicon valley to Hollywood. And it lies in an irreducible personality that marries, surfs, sails, and builds at 81 as if time had no hold on him.

The throne of the richest man in the world could change hands tomorrow, but for now, Larry Ellison has proven something more enduring: in an era where AI redefines everything, the old-guard technology giants, when guided by a clear vision and iron will, still write the rules of the future.