The character arc of Larry Ellison
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 17 August 1944 in New York City. Between then and now sit a summer in California in 1966, one term at the University of Chicago, Software Development Laboratories joined in 1977 with twelve hundred dollars, the first Oracle database in 1979, the renaming to Relational Software that year, Oracle Systems Corporation in 1983, a developer title in about 1984, four hundred redundancies in 1990, an entrepreneur award the same year and thirty seven years as chief executive to 2014. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Larry Ellison?
He got the sales job.
He was born in New York City in 1944. After spending the summer of 1966 in California he attended the University of Chicago for one term, where he studied physics and mathematics and first encountered computer design. One term is the whole of his higher education.
In 1977 he, Ed Oates and Bruce Scott joined Software Development Laboratories, several months after it had been founded by his supervisor at Ampex, Bob Miner. They invested two thousand dollars between them, of which twelve hundred was his. He had strong technical skills, and was not officially categorised as a developer until about 1984, because the founders decided that the others were stronger technically and that he should run sales. The most famous software fortune of its generation begins with somebody being told he was the weakest engineer in the room.
The company renamed itself Relational Software in 1979, the year the first Oracle Database was released, called version 2 because there was never a version 1. It became Oracle Systems Corporation in 1983, named after the product. In 1990 it laid off about four hundred people, ten percent of its workforce, because it was losing money, and in the same year he was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Harvard University. From 1990 to 1993 a rival was the fastest growing database company in the industry, and by 1994 a different rival had overtaken it to become Oracle's most important competitor. He was Oracle's chief executive from 1977 to 2014.
The moments
Larry Ellison's timeline.
The 1960s
One term at Chicago
Milestone, and it changed his direction. One term, and the first time he saw a computer designed.
The 1970s
Twelve hundred dollars
Milestone, and it changed everything. Twelve hundred dollars of his own, into somebody else's company.
Take the sales job, or insist on engineering
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: run sales, taken, or argue for the code. He was chief executive of Oracle from 1977 to 2014.
They gave him sales
Milestone, and it changed everything. The others were better engineers, so he got sales.
Oracle version 2
Milestone, and it changed everything. The first release was called version 2, on purpose.
The 1980s
It takes the name
Milestone, and it changed his direction. The company renamed after the product, which is the right way round.
Categorised as a developer
Milestone. Seven years to be called an engineer at his own company.
The 1990s
Four hundred people go
Setback, and it changed everything. Four hundred people out, in the year he was given an award.
A rival ran ahead
Setback, and it changed his direction. Somebody else was the company everybody wanted, for three years.
A second rival
Setback, and it changed his direction. One rival replaced by another, and neither of them was them.
The 2010s
Thirty seven years
Milestone, and it changed everything. Thirty seven years in one chair.
The 2020s
Briefly the wealthiest
Milestone, and it changed his direction. First in the world for a day, from twelve hundred dollars.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is the judgement made about him in 1977: the others were better engineers, so he was given sales, and thirty seven years later he was still running the company.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His began with twelve hundred dollars and being told he was not the best engineer. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Larry Ellison: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Larry Ellison's character arc?
How did Larry Ellison start Oracle?
Why did Larry Ellison run sales rather than engineering?
Why is Larry Ellison's first Oracle database called version 2?
Did Larry Ellison ever nearly lose Oracle?
How long was Larry Ellison CEO of Oracle?
Where does this timeline of Larry Ellison's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Larry Ellison, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- Oracle Corporation history, including the renamings of 1979 and 1983 and the redundancies of 1990.
- Harvard University Entrepreneur of the Year, 1990.