Financial success is often marketed in many forms, ranging from the absolutely dependable.investment* Strategizing for financial cutbacks and spending less than you earn. * Preparing for fiscal belt-tightening and keeping your expenses lower than your income. * Budgeting for austerity and not overspending. * Aiming for financial prudence and a lifestyle of thrift. * Adopting a strategy of fiscal constraint and living within your budget.
Even though Larry Ellison resigned as CEO of Oracle Corporation more than ten years prior, back in 2014, he stayed with the software firm as both chief technology officer and executive chairman.
Read More: If Mark Zuckerberg’s Wealth Were Evenly Distributed Across America, How Much Money Would Every Person Get?
Check Out: 6 Understatedly Brilliant Financial Strategies Employed by the Affluent
His wealth, too, has continued to accrue. According to Forbes’ real-time billionaire’s listAs of October 2nd, Ellison holds the title of the world’s second wealthiest individual, boasting an estimated fortune of $349.5 billion. This position puts him behind only Tesla’s Elon Musk and slightly ahead of Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg.
How, specifically, did Ellison manage to do that?accumulate such massive wealth?
Generating passive income doesn’t have to be a struggle.You’re welcome to begin as early as this week.
* The Genesis of Ellison: A Software Entrepreneur from the Start * Ellison’s Early Days: A Self-Taught Software Pioneer * From the Ground Up: Ellison’s Journey as a Software Innovator * Ellison’s Initial Steps: A Self-Made Man in Software * How It Started: Ellison, the Software Industry’s Early Achiever
Characterized as a “classic rags-to-riches story” byCEO TodayEllison spent his childhood in Chicago, reared by his aunt and uncle. He is known for twice leaving college before graduating, having attended both the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago.
Despite this, he showed a knack for coding and the related skills of problem-solving and logical thinking, and he quickly teamed up withtech companieslike Ampex and Amdahl.
Ellison’s time at Ampex included work on a CIA project known as “Oracle,” an experience that ultimately sparked his own entrepreneurial ambitions.
In 1977, Ellison helped start Software Development Laboratories, a company that would eventually be known asOracle Corporation. Oracle would go on to be the brand behind some of the world’s most popular enterprise software offerings — notably, Oracle Database — and the rest is history.
Explore More: If Bezos’ Wealth Was Evenly Distributed Across the US, How Much Would We Get?
Oracle Stock and Other Investments
While it’s undeniable that the vast bulk of Ellison’s wealth (and the growth thereof) is attributable to his holdings in Oracle — he holds about a 40% stake in the company, per Forbes — he also has investments in Tesla, real estate and other ventures.
Regarding the bulk of his investments, in Oracle, the company’s earnings results for the first quarter of its fiscal 2026 showed revenue growth of 12%. Plus, its share price has skyrocketed by more than 74% for the year as of Oct. 2. As a result, Ellison’s holdings have blossomed over time.
The lesson: Being a self-starter willing to teach yourself in-demand skill sets and leverage these into business pursuits could pay off big. While you may not make billions, it’s certainly a good place to begin if you’re looking to pursue long-term wealth-building.
In Ellison’s own words, as YourStory detailed: “If you do everything that everyone else does in business, you’re going to lose. The only way to really be ahead is to ‘be different.’”
More From Alpine Times
- 5 Luxury SUVs That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Fall 2025
- I Help People Retire Every Day — Here’s the Most Common Retirement Mistake People Make
- 6 Clever Ways to Pocket an Extra $1K This Month
- 6 Safe Accounts Proven to Grow Your Money Up to 13x Faster
This article originally appeared on Alpine Times: Larry Ellison Dropped Out of College Twice and Now Has $349.5 Billion — How He Did It
