Larry Ellison, co-founder and former CEO of Oracle, was born to a single mother, contracted pneumonia, and was sent to live with his mother’s aunt and uncle. When he was in college, his aunt (who’d adopted him) died, and he dropped out of college. Ellison later returned, but dropped out again.
He decided to move to California. He worked various jobs before founding Software Development Laboratories (which would later become Oracle). At one point, the company was close to bankruptcy, and was forced to lay off 10% of its workforce. An agreement with IBM infused much needed money into the organization. Five years later, the company was once again in financial trouble, resulting in some staff changes at the top. Ellison turned it around, and as of 2016, the company had $37 billion in revenue. Ellison has a net worth of $55 billion.
