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steve2470

(37,456 posts)
Tue May 17, 2016, 12:05 PM May 2016

Larry Ellison explains why life isn't about money: 'At some point, you can't spend all of it......

Larry Ellison explains why life isn't about money: 'At some point, you can't spend all of it. Trust me, I've tried'

http://www.businessinsider.com/larry-ellison-usc-commencement-speech-2016-5

"At some point, it's not about the money. At some point, you can't spend all of it. Trust me, I've tried." Ellison is known for his lavish lifestyle and collection of cars, airplanes, art, and real estate — including the Hawaiian island of Lanai.


Golly gee Mr. Ellison, maybe give most of your money to worthy charities and then devote your life to truly helping people ? Nah....no profit in that!


more at link

eta:
He has just donated $200 million to the university, one of the largest donations in USC's history, to establish a first-of-its-kind holistic cancer-treatment and research center.


Ok that's a great start. Only a few billion USD to go, Mr. Ellison!
11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Larry Ellison explains why life isn't about money: 'At some point, you can't spend all of it...... (Original Post) steve2470 May 2016 OP
Must be nice to be Larry Ellison... Skinner May 2016 #1
That's pretty easy for someone with BILLIONS to say! BillZBubb May 2016 #2
He may have a point. KamaAina May 2016 #3
Channeling Chelsea Clinton. noamnety May 2016 #4
"It's not enough that I succeed, but that no one else has a POOL TROLLEY, BITCHES!!!" HughBeaumont May 2016 #5
While true, he should have stopped at "...it's not about the money." closeupready May 2016 #6
Oink oink! moondust May 2016 #7
Larry Ellison's Oracle Started As a CIA Project Jesus Malverde May 2016 #8
I remember an old boss' remark...You can only eat one steak at a time. libdem4life May 2016 #9
It's easy to say that when you have it. linuxman May 2016 #10
Nothing you will do today, think about, worry about, will NOT be affected by money Actor May 2016 #11
 

noamnety

(20,234 posts)
4. Channeling Chelsea Clinton.
Tue May 17, 2016, 12:18 PM
May 2016

Funny how the disgustingly rich don't ever value being rich - and yet still keep hoarding.

HughBeaumont

(24,461 posts)
5. "It's not enough that I succeed, but that no one else has a POOL TROLLEY, BITCHES!!!"
Tue May 17, 2016, 12:56 PM
May 2016


[font size="5"]POOL TROLLEY!!!![/font]
 

closeupready

(29,503 posts)
6. While true, he should have stopped at "...it's not about the money."
Tue May 17, 2016, 01:04 PM
May 2016

The rest is patting himself on the back for how truly awesome he is for how much money he has.

moondust

(19,917 posts)
7. Oink oink!
Tue May 17, 2016, 01:23 PM
May 2016

Pigboy says being human swine ain't all that great. Hmm...

Here's an idea, Pigboy: Buy a big chunk of land on Crete or Sicily or Malta or someplace and turn it into a temporary housing area for refugees from wars and tyrants. Buy some ferries to get them there safely from Greece or Libya. Hire some teachers to help the kids while they're there. Or just give a couple billion to UNICEF or UNHCR and let them decide what to do with it.

Jesus Malverde

(10,274 posts)
8. Larry Ellison's Oracle Started As a CIA Project
Tue May 17, 2016, 01:46 PM
May 2016

Yesterday, Vox somehow managed to write an entire article about the history of Oracle and its founder Larry Ellison without mentioning the CIA even once. Which is pretty astounding, given the fact that Oracle takes its name from a 1977 CIA project codename. And that the CIA was Oracle's first customer.

Vox simply says that Oracle was founded in "the late 1970s" and "sells a line of software products that help large and medium-sized companies manage their operations." All of which is true! But as the article continues, it somehow ignores the fact that Oracle has always been a significant player in the national security industry. And that its founder would not have made his billions without helping to build the tools of our modern surveillance state.

"Recognizing the potential demand for a commercial database product, [Ellison] founded the company that became Oracle in 1977," Vox writes, conspicuously omitting the whole "because CIA wanted a relational database" part of the history.

Which isn't to say that Oracle's work with the US government should necessarily be frowned upon. The CIA needs databases, just like any large organization. But not mentioning just how reliant Oracle has been on government contracts since its inception is downright strange and seems to feed this narrative that Ellison simply created a product that companies wanted and private enterprise did the rest.

http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/larry-ellisons-oracle-started-as-a-cia-project-1636592238

 

libdem4life

(13,877 posts)
9. I remember an old boss' remark...You can only eat one steak at a time.
Tue May 17, 2016, 01:52 PM
May 2016

That was how he led his life, also.

However, money is greater than its power to purchase things for personal consumption. It is the power to purchase territory, human beings in that territory, intelligence and education, decide on wages which decides the standard of living, be King of the Mountain, etc.

My Dad used to say that you can tell the depth and ethics of a person by the way s/he treats people from whom they have nothing to gain. I've found it to be right on.

 

linuxman

(2,337 posts)
10. It's easy to say that when you have it.
Tue May 17, 2016, 01:53 PM
May 2016

IS life ALL about money? No, but just about everything in life that's worth a damn requires it in some way, shape, or form.


There's plenty here on DU who seem to echo the sentiment, though they do so through a sort of 'purity of poverty' sort of lens.

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