- Larry Ellison, Oracle’s founder and former CEO, has an extensive real estate portfolio.
- His holdings include multiple homes in Malibu and Lake Tahoe, as well as mansions in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
- He also owns 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison is no stranger to the real estate market – he’s been called “the nation’s most avid trophy-home buyer” and has all but taken over entire neighborhoods in Malibu and the Lake Tahoe area.
When asked by CNBC in 2012 why he would buy more homes than he could possibly live in, Ellison referenced his love of art.
“I’m going to start these art museums that are basically converted homes, and I have one for modern art, and I have one for 19th-century European art, and one for French impressionism,” Ellison said to CNBC. “I’ve got Japanese. I own a home in Kyoto, Japan actually on the temple grounds in Nanzenji that is going to become a Japanese art museum. So, a lot of them are museums.”
Though his 2012 purchase of the Hawaiian island of Lanai has been his largest overall investment by far, he’s made a number of blockbuster purchases over the last two decades.
In 1988, Ellison paid $3.9 million for a William Wurster home in San Francisco's swanky Pacific Heights neighborhood, a popular area that's now home to other tech moguls like Mark Pincus, Jony Ive, and Trevor Traina. Several news outlets reported Ellison planned to buy the home next door for $40 million, but the sale never happened.
Source: Curbed SF
His home in Woodside, California, modeled after a 16th-century Japanese emperor's palace, is worth an estimated $70 million. The 23-acre estate took nine years to design and build, and it was completed in 2004.
Source: SF Gate
He also owns a historic garden villa in Kyoto, Japan, which was reportedly listed for $86 million, though the price he actually paid is unknown.
Source: SF Gate, Japan Property Central
Pictured: Nanzen-ji Temple, which is right near Ellison's estate
Ellison owns as many as two dozen properties in Malibu, California, including at least 10 on billionaire-packed Carbon Beach. In 2013 he paid $18 million for producer Jerry Bruckheimer's house, and in April of this year, he reportedly paid $48 million for a five-bedroom home that once belonged to the late real estate developer Norman Ackenberg.
Source: Curbed LA, The Real Deal
Some of those Malibu homes, like this 2,800-square-foot oceanfront cottage, are often available for rent.
In 2004, he paid $17.6 million for the parcel that's now home to Nobu Malibu, an ultra-trendy Japanese restaurant popular among Hollywood A-listers. In 2013 he opened a Mediterranean restaurant called Nikita just next door, though it has since closed.
Source: Curbed LA
He teamed up with Robert De Niro, film producer Meir Teper, and Nobu Matsuhisa, the mastermind behind the Nobu sushi chain, to convert the historic Casa Malibu Inn into a high-end Japanese concept hotel that opened in April. Ellison purchased the property for $20 million in 2007, and rooms now start at around $1,100 a night.
Source: Business Insider
Ellison bought the Malibu Racquet Club for $6.9 million in 2007. The facilities have been vastly improved since the purchase, and tennis pros Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams have been spotted here.
Source: Curbed LA
This 2.5-acre home in Snug Harbor, Lake Tahoe, sold for $20.35 million in July 2014. He reportedly owns two others in the area and is working on building another home that's three times the size of this one, with 18,000 square feet of living space in addition to an island, waterfalls, and a tennis court.
Source: Wall Street Journal
In 2010, he paid $10.5 million for the Beechwood Villa in Newport, Rhode Island. He's reportedly planning to turn the historic home, which once belonged to the Astor family, into a museum to house his extensive 19th-century art collection.
Source: SF Gate
Ellison bought Porcupine Creek from Yellowstone Club founders Tim and Edra Blixseth for $42.9 million in 2011. The private golf club, which is located in Rancho Mirage, California, includes a main house with a whopping 16 bedrooms, in addition to several separate guest houses.
Source: Business Insider
Ellison raised some eyebrows when in 2012 he paid a reported $300 million to buy 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai. Since then, he's bought two airlines, refurbished the island's hotels, and started investing in clean energy sources. He plans to use the island as an experiment for environmentally sound practices.
Source: Forbes
One of the resorts, the Four Seasons Resort Lanai, reopened in February 2016 after a months-long renovation. It has a Nobu sushi restaurant outpost, luxury spas, retail, and an 18-hole golf course designed by legendary champion Jack Nicklaus.
Source: Business Insider
In February 2014, Ellison reportedly purchased 21 more residential properties near the Four Seasons Resorts Lanai at Manele Bay, spending a little more than $41 million.
Source: Pacific Business News
In October of this year, news broke that Ellison's Lawrence Investments would be buying a historic Lake Tahoe resort for $35.8 million. Called the Cal-Neva Resort and Casino, it was previously owned by Frank Sinatra and frequented by the likes of Marilyn Monroe.
Source: Business Insider, Sacramento Bee