Larry Ellison Quotes

Quotes by and about Larry Ellison

(Continued from his main entry on the site.)

Ellison: "Being first is more important to me [than earning money]. I have so much money. Whatever money is, it's just a method of keeping score now. I mean, I certainly don't need more money."

Ellison: "The great thing about programming is [that] you don't have to defer gratification for more than a few hours [before] you get ... feedback [and you see if it works]."

Ellison: "The most important aspect of my personality as far as determining my success goes; has been my questioning conventional wisdom, doubting experts and questioning authority. While that can be painful in your relationships with your parents and teachers, it's enormously useful in life."

Ellison: "Bill Gates wants people to think he is Edison, when he's really Rockefeller. Referring to Gates as the smartest man in America isn't right. Wealth isn't the same thing as intelligence."

Ellison: "When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for people telling you that you are nuts."

Ellison: "You have to act and act now."

Ellison: "When you are the first person whose beliefs are different from what everyone else believes, you are basically saying, 'I'm right and everyone else is wrong.' That's a very unpleasant position to be in. It's at once exhilaration and the same time an invitation to be attacked."

Ellison: "You can't spend [as much money as I have], even if you try. I've been trying."

Ellison: "I think about the business all the time. Well, I shouldn't say all the time. I don't think about it when I am wakeboarding."

Ellison: "What makes me happy? I was really happy to build this house. That's it; building things. The trouble with software is that it's very hard to show your aunt in Florida what you've done."

Ellison: "[I like reading] about Churchill and how he wasn't overwhelmed by Nazi Germany. Amazing; that the morale of a country rested on one person's shoulders. Amazing. ... Truly inspirational. I suppose that's my theme. ... Doing great things."

Ellison: "Five years from now, I don't know how I'll think."