ELITE Capitalism is to naïve markets – as Go is to chess, and checkers is to rock scissors paper. Sleight-of-hand? David Copperfield and David Blaine have nothing on these guys. My first impression is something like, Isn’t this like bundling Dodd Frank paper, hollowing out sustainable value — the ole “Ouroboros” snake eating its own tail? When the price tag exceeds the value (and even speculative value) by orders of magnitude, does it matter anymore if it’s a great product? Markets and economies don’t implode catastrophically (think tulips and dotcoms and real estate) because great products are exploding too quickly. They implode catastrophically because “while the gettin’ is good“ people use the blur of popularity and exuberance to do stupid, and even underhanded though legal things. They “grab theirs and run”. Maybe I’m just imagining it. See what you think:
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Larry Ellison at age 81.
Most founders are slowing down by 40. Ellison? He’s rewriting the rules of tech and finance four decades later, with a fortune closing in on $400B.
Let’s rewind.
Born in the Bronx to a single mother, adopted in Chicago, dropped out of college twice. At 32, with just $2,000, he founded what would become Oracle. By 47, he was a billionaire. By 81, he’s wealthier than almost anyone alive and still running the game.
And now, he’s in the middle of AI’s biggest power play.
Here’s how the “Ellison Loop” works:
• Oracle signs a $300B deal with OpenAI to supply GPUs.
• The GPUs don’t exist yet — but Wall Street doesn’t care. Oracle stock rockets.
• Ellison’s net worth jumps $100B in a single day.
• He invests the gains back into OpenAI.
• OpenAI then uses that capital… to pay Oracle for the same $300B deal.
• Stock jumps again. Ellison repeats the cycle.
Ellison is simultaneously the customer and vendor, the investor and the beneficiary.
He created a recursive economy where money flows in circles and he sits in the center of the loop.
Call it the boldest illusion in business history. Or call it the greatest innovation capitalism has ever seen. Either way, Ellison has the patch notes.
And his playbook?
1️⃣ Control is everything. He never gave up equity. Debt, deals, anything but dilution.
2️⃣ Sell harder than you build. “Average tech with great marketing beats great tech with average marketing.”
3️⃣ Hire for arrogance. Oracle famously asked: “Are you the smartest person you know?” If yes , you’re in.
4️⃣ Compete like it’s life or death. Whether sailing, cycling, or winning contracts, Ellison only played to dominate.
5️⃣ Force progress. Blocked by a wall during a server install, Ellison grabbed a hammer and smashed through it. Lesson: don’t wait, act.
Of course, he’s also controversial with lawsuits, accounting scandals, rivals he feuded with. But resilience is his superpower. Each time he was counted out, he came back bigger.
Today, Larry Ellison owns an island in Hawaii, fighter jets, and a $400B empire. But more importantly, he’s proof of something bigger:
👉 You’re never too old to reinvent yourself.
👉 You don’t need to play by anyone else’s rules.
👉 And sometimes the most powerful innovation isn’t a new technology…..it’s a new way of playing the game.
Larry Ellison didn’t just build Oracle. He built his own economy.
