Key points
- Oracle founder Larry Ellison plans to donate 95% of his wealth, reiterating a personal pledge to direct nearly all assets to philanthropy on his own terms.
- His net worth is about $373 billion as of September 2025, driven by Oracle’s AI-fueled stock surge and a sizable Tesla stake.
- Ellison channels giving primarily through the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), a for‑profit research hub focused on health, food security, climate, and AI.
- A new EIT campus is slated to open in Oxford in 2027 as a flagship for long‑horizon research.
- Major past gifts include $200 million to USC for a cancer center and roughly $1 billion to the Ellison Medical Foundation (now closed).
- Leadership turnover at EIT drew attention in 2024 when scientist John Bell exited weeks after being tapped to lead research.
- Ellison remains the world’s second-richest person; only Elon Musk ranks higher on billionaire indexes.
Texas: Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison plans to give away 95% of his fortune, reiterating a long-standing commitment to devote nearly all his wealth to philanthropic causes while retaining control over where, when, and how it is deployed. The approach reflects a preference for founding and funding mission-driven research enterprises rather than broadly dispersing funds through traditional charities.
Net worth and what’s driving it
Ellison’s wealth stands near $373 billion in late September 2025, anchored by an approximately 41% stake in Oracle and a long-held investment in Tesla. Oracle’s share-price rally amid the global AI infrastructure buildout—spanning cloud capacity, data platforms, and model hosting—has been the principal catalyst behind his rapid net-worth gains this year.
How he’ll give: EIT
Ellison’s primary vehicle is the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), designed to tackle large, complex challenges that require interdisciplinary science and engineering over many years. EIT prioritizes breakthroughs in healthcare, food security, climate resilience, and AI, with a structure built to move quickly from research to real-world application.
Oxford campus in 2027
A major EIT campus in Oxford is scheduled to open in 2027, envisioned as a hub that brings together clinicians, data scientists, biologists, and engineers. The site will expand capacity for clinical trials, computational biology, and AI-driven discovery, while forging partnerships with universities, hospitals, and industry.
Track record of big gifts
Ellison has previously donated $200 million to the University of Southern California to establish a cancer research center. He also contributed around $1 billion to the Ellison Medical Foundation, which focused on aging and disease prevention before shutting down. These gifts reflect a pattern of financing institutions with clear research mandates and measurable outcomes.
Leading on his own terms
Ellison has emphasized autonomy and accountability in his philanthropy, favoring projects where governance and execution align closely with his vision. That approach has attracted scrutiny especially after leadership turbulence at EIT in 2024 yet it underscores his insistence on speed, coordination, and translational impact over diffuse grant-making.
Why it matters
A 95% give-away plan by one of the world’s wealthiest individuals could channel unprecedented resources into targeted, long-horizon research programs. If EIT’s model scales as envisioned, it may accelerate pathways from lab to clinic and from prototypes to deployable climate and food systems technologies.
What to watch next
- EIT leadership and partnerships: Who’s tapped to steer Oxford operations and global collaborations.
- Oracle’s AI roadmap: Continued investment in cloud, data, and model ecosystems that influence Ellison’s wealth and philanthropic firepower.
- Transparency and outcomes: How EIT measures impact, publishes results, and shares tools or datasets with the broader research community.
