Billionaire Ellison Increases Credit Line to $4.5 Billion
Billionaire Larry Ellison more than tripled the amount of Oracle Corp. (ORCL) stock he has pledged against lines of credit in the last year, effectively reducing his fortune by billions of dollars.
Ellison owns 1.1 billion shares of the Redwood City, California-based software maker. According to the company’s proxy statement, which was filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission on Sept. 21, 139 million shares are “pledged as collateral to secure certain personal indebtedness, including various lines of credit.” The collateralized stock is valued at $4.5 billion.
According to Oracle’s 2011 proxy statement, the billionaire had pledged 40 million shares as collateral. The increase reduced Ellison’s net worth estimate by $3.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He’s now the world’s 8th- richest person with a $37.9 billion fortune. Collateralized shares aren’t counted toward an individual’s net worth, according to the ranking’s methodology.
Deborah Hellinger, an Oracle spokeswoman, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
The bulk of Ellison’s fortune comes from his 23.5 percent stake in Oracle, the world’s largest database company. He also has interests in software makers NetSuite Inc. and LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. (LF) In addition, Ellison owns numerous real estate properties, including the Hawaiian island of Lanai and estates in California and Newport, Rhode Island.
Oracle reported fiscal first-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates last week, as sales of computer hardware fell for a sixth straight period. The company’s shares dropped 0.8 percent to $32.23 at 4:00 p.m. in New York. The stock has gained 25.6 percent this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew G. Miller in New York at mmiller144@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Newcomb at pnewcomb2@bloomberg.net
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Larry Ellison, chief executive officer of Oracle Corp.
Larry Ellison, chief executive officer of Oracle Corp. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Rate this Page
Bloomberg moderates all comments. Comments that are abusive or off-topic will not be posted to the site. Excessively long comments may be moderated as well. Bloomberg cannot facilitate requests to remove comments or explain individual moderation decisions.