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By Max Frost
“We’re going to have supervision,” said Larry Ellison at a meeting last September.
“Every police officer is going to be supervised at all times, and if there’s a problem, AI will report that problem and report it to the appropriate person. Citizens will be on their best behavior because we are constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on.”
In the last month, Ellison took three steps toward making that vision a reality.
Step 1: Become the world’s wealthiest man.
Ellison, 81, has been extraordinarily rich for generations.
Born poor in New York City in 1944, he – like Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs – was adopted. Raised in Chicago, he attended and dropped out of both the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He then settled in Silicon Valley, where he began working on software and database projects. One of those projects was for the CIA and called “Oracle.”
In 1977, Ellison launched a company with that name that became a pioneer in database management. By the 1990s, Oracle was providing vital services to the booming tech industry, and Ellison was rivaling Bill Gates for the title of “World’s richest man.” It would take another 30 years for him to win it.
Fast forward to 2025, and Oracle is a top provider of cloud, database, cybersecurity, and other digital infrastructure to many of the world’s largest companies, militaries, intelligence agencies, and governments. It’s the world’s 14th-most valuable company, and Ellison has become known for lavish displays of wealth: He owns 98% of Lana’i, the Hawaiian archipelago’s sixth-largest island, and owns fighter jets, which he flies for fun.
The AI boom has filled his coffers even further. Last month, a major OpenAI deal pushed Oracle’s value up 30% in a single day. That led him to briefly eclipse Elon Musk as the world’s richest man, with a $393B net worth.
With that money comes power. And what is Ellison doing with it?
Step 2: Buy the media.
Some of Larry Ellison’s wealth has trickled down to his son, David, who has invested it in media. He created a production company, Skydance, which produced mega hits like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Star Trek.” This summer, Skydance finalized a deal to buy Paramount, including its assets like CBS. This week, it agreed to buy The Free Press, perhaps the country’s most successful independent media outlet. According to The New York Times, the younger Ellison is also preparing a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, which would give him control of CNN.
While the younger Ellison pushes into traditional media, the elder is pushing into social media.
Last month, days after becoming the world’s wealthiest man, President Trump announced that Larry Ellison – an ally of his – and Oracle would be taking over a significant share of TikTok’s American operations. Oracle already hosted Americans’ TikTok data, but will now have additional control over the business, including its algorithm. It’s unclear how exactly the TikTok deal was reached.
Step 3: Build the database.
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Editor’s Note
Thanks for reading. What are your thoughts on Larry Ellison, his influence in the media, and his growing access to government data? Let us know by replying here.
And now, some replies on yesterday’s story sharing our thoughts on the Free Press’ acquisition:
Helen wrote:
Just curious? If ROCA had been founded during world war 2 would you be pressing for “fair and balanced” coverage of the Nazi machine? Some issues do not have 2 sides. A bloodthirsty terrorist group murdered men women and children. Regardless of the history - no matter the provocation- they have no legal or moral standing in the Israeli Palestinian conflict.
She was referencing our writing that the Free Press had not reported on both sides of the Palestinian conflict.
Max F responded:
No, but if we founded Roca as a center of debate on every issue - like the FP did - I wouldn’t exclude the Israeli government’s conduct in Gaza as a topic
To which Helen wrote:
I suppose I understand that - even animals masquerading as humans deserve humane treatment. War crimes are war crimes no matter who the victim is.
And Balint wrote:
I think the proper question here, is if the media even can shift towards more one sided journalism. There is no middle ground between being independent and censoring your work for a higher power. Sure, owners of media companies and journals always had a say in what topics their editors touched on, and what kind of tone they did it in. But the social elite, and lots of intellectuals reading the news everyday were a respectable force, enough to keep a perfect balance in all parties interests. If the news of an “independent” source started to become influenced for profit, it was a suicide businesswide. But that was long ago. Nowadays less and less people read news to stay up to date with current world events, and the trend of reading trashy “news” mostly covering celebrity drama and one sided political views keeps growing. Because you can say you read the news, but dont have to form an own thought of yours, since being one sided doesnt ask questions, it tells you the correct opinion. So to come to a conclusion in the end of my rambling, i think independent outlets, bought by millionaires have to make a choice. To either keep reporting stuff like they used to, keep the same message they had before, only considerately taking critisism from the higher ups, or to go all in and make news aimed at less educated, or politically unmovable grouops of people, who they dont have to convince their paper is still independent.
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Thanks for reading,
Max and Max
