Larry Ellison once spied on Bill Gates' Microsoft. Now he is the second richest man: Is this the ultimate revenge?
When Silicon Valley stories are told, the rivalry between Steve Jobs and
Bill Gates
often takes the spotlight—two visionaries locked in a dramatic dance of respect, competition, and reinvention. But there's another tech feud that simmered with far more intensity and far less grace:
Larry Ellison
vs. Bill Gates. Nearly 50 years after Ellison co-founded
Oracle
, 2025 may be the year he finally got his revenge.
While Jobs and Gates shared a history of mutual admiration despite business clashes, Ellison and Gates operated from a very different playbook. As Oracle went head-to-head with
Microsoft
in the database and
cloud computing
space, the competition became deeply personal for Ellison, who once bluntly stated, 'It's not enough that we win; all others must lose.'
A Rivalry Rooted in Aggression, Not Admiration
According to a report by Barchart, Ellison was long irritated by what he saw as Microsoft's underhanded market strategies—undercutting prices, bundling products, and squeezing out competition. Unlike his more diplomatic peers, Ellison didn't shy away from going public with his distaste.
'Well, what's new is nothing's new,' he said in a now-iconic rant reported by Business Insider. 'Microsoft continues to do what they always do, which is to keep the price of Windows high and copy other people's software and just add it to Windows. That is the absolute opposite of innovation, and Bill claiming that's innovation—I guess it is innovation in business practice, it's anti-innovation in technology.'
For Ellison, this wasn't just about business tactics—it was about principle, and he made it clear that he viewed Gates' leadership as the embodiment of corporate opportunism.
You Might Also Like:
Jeff Bezos' father did not know about him until 2014, all because of one 'big mistake'. He died a year later
— seanpk (@seanpk)
From Spreadsheets to Surveillance: The Trashgate Episode
The rivalry hit its most bizarre peak in the early 2000s with a scandal now remembered as Trashgate. Oracle suspected that Microsoft was covertly funding academic groups and think tanks to manipulate public and regulatory opinion. In response, Ellison hired a PR firm to dig up evidence—literally. The firm, in turn, employed private investigators to rummage through the trash of buildings tied to Microsoft.
Critics called the move absurd, unethical, and bordering on corporate espionage. But Ellison was unfazed. 'All we did is try to take information that was hidden and bring it to light,' he said. 'I don't think that was arrogance. I think it was a public service.' To him, this wasn't a smear campaign—it was a counterstrike in a war Microsoft had started.
— sandykory (@sandykory)
The 2025 Reality: Ellison's Triumph Over Gates
Fast forward to June 2025, and Ellison may finally be having the last laugh. According to Forbes' real-time billionaire list, Larry Ellison is now the second-richest person in the world, with a staggering net worth of $254 billion—second only to Elon Musk. In a twist of fate, Ellison's fortune now more than doubles that of Bill Gates, who has vowed to give away his wealth in his lifetime and owns less than 1% of Microsoft today.
The secret behind Ellison's explosive financial rise lies in Oracle's booming presence in AI. Since 2023, his net worth has more than doubled—up from $107 billion—thanks to Oracle's aggressive AI strategy and his commanding ownership stake. He currently controls about 40% of
Oracle
, far more than Jeff Bezos's 10% share in Amazon or Mark Zuckerberg's 13% in Meta.
You Might Also Like:
Elon Musk has finally named the three smartest people in the world
While Microsoft remains the world's most valuable company, according to CompaniesMarketCap, the symbolic win seems to have swung in Ellison's favour. Oracle may be ranked only 16th in valuation, but Ellison now holds far greater individual power, wealth, and ownership than his longtime rival.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
23 minutes ago
- Time of India
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang swears by these 6 effective management strategies to run a company like a genius
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang swears by these 6 effective management strategies to run a company like a genius In June 2025, Nvidia captured the prized title of the world's most valuable publicly traded company from long-time tech giants Apple and Microsoft, as reported by The Business Insider. What tipped the scales? A meteoric soaring share price, driven by worldwide AI chip bingeing, unorthodox leadership, and a vision that's rewriting the playbook on how today's tech leviathans are managed. Behind Nvidia's record-breaking rise is its co-founder and CEO, Jensen Huang , a dynamic and demanding leader whose unconventional tactics have become a study in creating a future-shaping company. From having an unusually large leadership team to radically open communication, Huang's style is as innovative as the GPU revolution that has made Nvidia a behemoth. Nvidia tops the tech world under Jensen Huang's leadership, surpassing Apple and Microsoft In early June, according to reports, Nvidia surpassed both Apple and Microsoft, reaching a market capitalisation of $3.444 trillion, before trading subsequently stabilised at comparable levels. This benchmark underscores growing demand for Nvidia's AI accelerators, which drive the compute-intensive functions behind such models as ChatGPT and other generative AI models. Nvidia stock has increased by over 200% over the last twelve months, responsible for more than 50% of the Magnificent Seven's combined S&P 500 gains. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's leadership advice for managing teams like a pro 1. Maximise direct reports to keep the organisation flat What he does : Huang personally oversees about 60 top leaders, much more than most. Why it matters : With fewer layers, there is less bureaucracy, and information and decisions move more freely Huang about it : "The more direct reports the CEO has, the fewer layers... It allows us to keep information fluid". 2. Give feedback publicly, no private calls What he avoids : Secret one-on-one meetings and closed-door feedback sessions. Why it works : Feedback turns into a learning experience for everyone, increasing mutual understanding. Huang about it : "Feedback is learning. Why are you the only person who should learn this?" 3. Communicate briefly and often Huang's style : Dozens of concise emails, often just a sentence or two, that go out daily. Purpose : Brief messages steer clear of clutter and encourage dialogue when richer context is required. Team impact : Quick and direct messaging keeps the whole company aligned and nimble. 4. Model transparent reasoning How he leads : Instead of concealing the thinking process, Huang takes his team through his choices in real time. Result : Direct reports learn strategic thinking, assisting them to internalise decision-making templates. Huang explains : "If you... share with [your team] how I reasoned through something, I've empowered you" 5. Embrace 'mistakes in public' culture Core belief : Don't shy away from failure, bring it into the spotlight. Public value : Mistakes shared become lessons learned collectively. Huang's idea : "Nobody fails alone", and growth is accelerated through collective learning. 6. Keep "founder mode" mentality Principle : Remain near the front lines, drive ambitious targets, and maintain hunger even in the upper echelons. Culture of velocity : Huang was known to begin meetings with 'Our company is thirty days from going out of business,' and this created a sense of urgency and concentration. Structure : No executive suite; he patrols, asks questions, makes connections, and insists on excellence at all levels. Also read | Apple iPhone 15 is available for just Rs 26,004 on Amazon; know how to grab the deal AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Is anything real anymore? AI testimonials take over the American justice system
Generative AI has been developing at a breakneck pace since the high-profile release of ChatGPT in November 2022. The Large Language Model (LLM) garnered massive media recognition for its ability to write complex and coherent responses to simple prompts. Other AI LLMs such as and Microsoft's 'Sydney' (now the AI copilot) also gained media notoriety for the manner in which they seemed to mimic human emotions to an uncanny degree. Written text is not the only area where AI has a disruptive effect, with image generation algorithms such as Midjourney, and video generation programs such as Google Veo progressively blurring the line between what's made by humans, and what's made by AI. Google Veo, in particular, became infamous for generating short videos resembling viral social media posts that had netizens wondering how convincing they looked. These rapid developments in AI technology have led to increased concerns about their disruptive impact on everyday life, and this has now begun to happen in the courtrooms of the United States. AI testimonies are now a part of the US court system AI video is now being introduced as a kind of posthumous testimony in court trials. During a manslaughter sentencing hearing where the victim was an American male named Christopher Pelkey, shot and killed in a road rage incident, an AI video of Perkley played where he gave an impact statement. The video had the AI say 'To Gabriel Horcasidas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day, under those circumstances…I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives and I always have. I still do.' Pelkey's sister, Stacy Wales, had given her own testimony during the sentencing hearing, but didn't feel that her own words alone could properly convey the extent of her grief. Christopher Pelkey was killed in a road rage incident in Chandler in 2021, but last month, artificial intelligence brought him back to life during his killer's sentencing hearing. At the end of the hearing, Gabriel Horcasidas was sentenced to 10.5 years in prison. The ruling has since been appealed, shining a spotlight on the disruptive impact AI tech is already having on America's court system. Speaking to the Associated Press, AI deepfake expert David Evan Harris said that the technology might end up stacking the deck in favour of the wealthy and privileged: 'I imagine that will be a contested form of evidence, in part because it could be something that advantages parties that have more resources over parties that don't,' In one of the viral Google Veo videos that took the internet by storm, an AI generated girl says: 'This is wild. I'm AI generated by Veo 3. Nothing is real anymore.' We are Veo 3 just broke the internet.10 wild examples 1. Nothing is real anymore With the increasing normalization of AI technology in everyday life, as well as vital civic avenues such as criminal justice, the impacts of such technologies are sure to be dissected and studied for years to come.
Economic Times
3 hours ago
- Economic Times
OpenAI revamps ChatGPT Enterprise pricing structure: WSJ report
OpenAI has changed the pricing structure for the business version of ChatGPT, as it faces rising competition in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The AI giant sold ChatGPT Enterprise earlier at a fixed price. It has now changed the pricing structure for the enterprise AI chatbot to include a credits system that clients can use to upgrade to more advanced tools and add more features, WSJ reported. The price for ChatGPT Enterprise will vary based on the credits a user buys, allowing more companies to use the product across their workforce. Pricing for ChatGPT Enterprise isn't publicly available. This is the second pricing revamp OpenAI undertook this week. The AI startup started selling ChatGPT at discounted prices, a move that hurt investor Microsoft. It discounted ChatGPT Enterprise between 10% and 20% for customers buying additional products. The company has projected around $15 billion in revenue from business customers of ChatGPT. It logged $10 billion in annual recurring revenue solely from its products as of June, with ChatGPT leading the charge. Also Read: OpenAI is phasing out Scale AI work following startup's Meta deal Meanwhile, Microsoft is planning to walk away from its high-stakes talks with OpenAI over the future of its multibillion-dollar alliance, the Financial Times reported. The tech giant has considered halting complex discussions with the ChatGPT maker if the two sides remain unable to agree on critical issues such as the size of Microsoft's future stake in OpenAI, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Earlier today, OpenAI announced the rollout of ChatGPT Record mode for ChatGPT Pro, Enterprise, and Edu users. The in-app feature is designed to capture, transcribe and summarise meetings or conversations. It also picks out key points and can turn them into follow-ups, action items, or even lines of code. For now, ChatGPT Record is available at no extra cost.
