Oracle Corporation Co-Founder Larry Ellison He once said a dispute over buying a sailboat ended his marriage.
In his 2016 commencement speech at the University of Southern California, Ellison reflected on his early years growing up on the South Side of Chicago, where becoming a doctor was seen as the ultimate measure of success.
He said that dream, reinforced by family, teachers and his girlfriend, gradually became his own – it never really fit.
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Allison struggled through pre-med courses and felt little interest in the path laid out for her.
“I couldn’t make myself the person I thought I was,” he said, adding that he eventually dropped out of college at age 21 and moved to California.
After settling in Berkeley in the 1960s, Ellison immersed himself in environmental causes, doing part-time computer programming to pay the bills while working as a river guide and rock climbing instructor in Yosemite.
He described this period as one of personal discovery and relative happiness.
However, his wife did not hold that opinion. Alison said she wants stability — a full-time programming job or back in college. After deciding to buy a boat, the tension increased.
“My wife said it was the single dumbest idea she’d ever heard in her entire life. She accused me of being irresponsible, and she told me I lacked ambition,” Ellison said.
Disagreements got her kicked out of the house and eventually led to a divorce. Ellison called it the “defining moment” of his life.
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The Oracle co-founder said the divorce forced him to confront a recurring theme: meeting other people’s expectations.
However, this time he did not feel any disappointment in himself. “Their dreams and mine were different,” he said. “I will never confuse the two of them again.”
He began living on a sailboat with his cat and continued to explore various jobs and interests, eventually gravitating toward Silicon Valley startups.
