Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded the software company Oracle Corporation. He was Oracle's chief executive officer from 1977 to 2014 and is now its chief technology officer and executive chairman. He is a centibillionaire and the 2nd richest person in the world as of October 2025. On September 10, 2025, Ellison was briefly the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $393 billion. Ellison is also known for his ownership of 98 percent of Lānaʻi, the sixth-largest island in the Hawaiian Islands.