Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison Buys Porcupine Creek

One of the homes on our biggest price drops for 2010 list has found its new owner. MyDesert.com confirms that Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison has snapped up Porcupine Creek, a 249-acre golf course estate in Ranch Mirage, California, for $42.9 million. This home originally hit the market for $75 million but last fall it had a price cut to $55 million. Ellison already has ties in the area. In 2009 he bought the nearby Indian Wells Tennis Garden and BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament. Ellison also owns property in Woodside, California, on Malibu's Carbon Beach and last year he purchased the Astor's Beechwood Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island.

Pourcupine Creek was formerly owned by Yellowstone Club founders Tim and Edra Blixseth before an acrimonious divorce got the better of them and their global collection of properties. Porcupine Creek was most recently in the hands of a holding company related to the Yellowstone Club. Blixseth sold the Yellowstone Club last year to CrossHarbor Partners. Porcupine Creek includes a golf club and golf course, a huge 18,400 square-foot main residence, eight guest houses, a pool, spa, gym and an amphitheater. It has hosted many benefits and charity events and in an email to MyDesert Edra Blixseth expressed hope that the estate might serve that function again.

[Thanks, Spec.]

Gallery: Porcupine Creek

Tags: edra blixeth, larry ellison, oracle, porcupine creek

Geffen Edges Out Ellison to Seize Control of World's Sixth Largest Yacht

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Wealth

Music mogul David Geffen is now the sole owner of Rising Sun (above), the world's sixth largest yacht, having seized control from co-owner Larry Ellison. Originally commissioned by the Oracle billionaire from Germany's Lürssen shipyard in 2004, the 456 ft. megayacht cost about $250 million to build. After gaining possession of the craft – the terms of the deal have not been disclosed – Geffen has sent the boat back to Lurssen for some much-needed modifications while Ellison prepares to take delivery of a much smaller 298-ft. superyacht. Considerably bigger than other billionaire boats like Paul Allen's Octopus, the Rising Sun features luxe accommodations for 12 people in addition to 30 crew members and boasts a total of 82 rooms on five decks. Onyx countertops, a gymnasium, spa, sauna, wine cellar, private cinema and basketball court that converts to a helipad are some of the over-the-top touches onboard. Four MTU 20V 8000 M90 diesel engines with a combined output of 50,000 hp move the massive yacht along at up to 28 knots.

[via JamesList]

Tags: billionaire, David Geffen, Germany, Larry Ellison, megayacht, Paul Allen, Rising Sun, superyacht, yacht

Larry Ellison's McLaren F1 Auctioned for $3.575 Million

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

The pre-sale estimate came good for Larry Ellison and his 1995 McLaren F1. Gooding & Company auctioned the Oracle honcho's supercar during Pebble Beach weekend, and the gavel slammed for good at $3,575,000. True, that's less than half the price of the top Gooding & Co draw, a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione that went for $7,260,000. Still, the McLaren came in at #5 on Gooding's top ten money earners that weekend.

More telling, the car is only 15 years old and only cost $970,000 when new – the next youngest car was from 1969, a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Speciale, that sold for half the price of the McLaren. The McLaren is probably the only production car out there in the last 30 years, and certainly the only nineties car, to claim that kind of appreciation. Not that Larry Ellison really needs it, but we hear he's serious about the Benjamins.

Gallery: Larry Ellison's McLaren F1 Auctioned by Gooding & Co

Tags: Gooding and Company, gooding company, larry ellison, mclaren f1, pebble beach, pebble beach 2010

David Ellison's $350 Million Paramount Deal

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

How does a 27-year-old actor raise $350 million for a movie-making deal with Paramount Studios? It helps when your father is a billionaire. David Ellison, the son of Oracle's Larry Ellison raised the money, $150 million in equity and a four-year, $200-million revolving credit facility led by JPMorgan Chase, so that he can ramp up production at his movie decoration: underline;">company Skydance Productions, according to the LA Times.

Ellison's father has an estimated net worth of $28 billion and did chip in part of the equity along with other investors. The funds will enable the younger Ellison to crank out four to six movies a year. Skydance will produce both big-budget action, adventure and science fiction as well as less expensive comedies and genre pictures. The LA Times reports that Ellison had been trying to raise money since last year, when he first signed a four-year co-financing, production and distribution agreement with Paramount. The deal means that Skydance will get the option to co-finance and co-produce the movies that Paramount plans to make and Paramount can co-finance and distribute a number of movies that Skydance makes.

The LA Times article reports that Paramount needed the cash infusion. The studio failed to raise its own $450 million in 2009 and has been making movies with the help of financing partners including Spyglass Entertainment to put out its films. Skydance will co-finance "Mission: Impossible 4" with Tom Cruise, "True Grit" starring Matt Damon and a new movie with Chris Pine to reboot the Jack Ryan series of movies based on Tom Clancy's thrillers. Ryan has been played by Ben Affleck, Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin in the past.

Ellison is a USC Film School graduate who started off as an actor. He is also a stunt pilot who has his offices at the Santa Monica airport and named his company after his love of flying. In 2006 he had his first big-screen role in the World War I drama "Flyboys" a movie that he starred in with James Franco and co-financed with MGM. David Ellison, his father and a group of filmmakers and investors spent around $60 million of their own money to make and market the film. It had a total box office gross of $17,770,614.

Tags: david ellison, jack ryan, Jack Ryan franchise, jack ryan reboot, larry ellison, mission impossible 4, Paramount Studios, skydance productions, true grit, true grit remake

Larry Ellison's McLaren F1 Up for Auction at Pebble Beach

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

It's not every day that a McLaren F1 becomes available for purchase. After all, only a hundred were made. But that day is coming up, and coming up soon.

At the fast-approaching Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Gooding & Company will auction off one very desirable example of the supercar that's still trouncing the competition a dozen years since it ceased production. This particular example, in silver with black interior, once belonged to Larry Ellison, whose company Oracle sponsored the McLaren racing team, and stands as one of the few ever registered for use in the United States. Pre-sale estimates place its value at around $3 million... give or take $500k.

[Image: Paul Litwinski © 2010 Courtesy of Gooding & Company]

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Tags: f1, gooding, Gooding and Company, gooding co, gooding company, larry ellison, mclaren, mclaren f1, monterey, pebble beach, Pebble Beach Concours dElegance

Oracle's Larry Ellison Is World's Highest Paid CEO

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

Oracle's Larry Ellison received a whopping $1.84 billion in compensation over the past decade, making him the world's highest paid CEO according to a new Wall Street Journal survey of public companies. The founder and chief executive of software maker Oracle Corp. beat out rival Barry Diller, chairman of IAC/InterActive, for the top spot; Diller received roughly $1.14 billion in compensation. Following Diller are Occidental Petroleum Corp. CEO Ray Irani at $857 million, Apple Inc.'s Steve Jobs with $749 million and, in fifth place, Capital One Financial Corp. CEO Richard Fairbank at $569 million. Ellison, the sixth richest person in the world with a personal fortune of $28 billion, is known for his passion for high-tech sailing yachts and owns a Woodside, California estate estimated to be worth $200 million. He's also said to have recently paid $10.5 million for Beechwood, the historic Astor family mansion in Newport, RI that was our estate of the day back in May 2007.

Tags: Apple, Barry Diller, billionaires, CEO, highest paying jobs, Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, wealth

Golden State Warriors Sold For Record $450 MIllion

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

In a startling turn, the frontrunner to be the next owner of the Golden State Warriors basketball team, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has come up short. The new owner will be Joseph Lacob. The Mercury News reports that Lacob, a managing partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture capitalist firm in Menlo Park is also part owner of the Boston Celtics. His Golden State Warriors group includes Peter Guber of Mandalay Entertainment. Guber's Mandalay Baseball Properties owns a bunch of minor league baseball teams and was reportedly once interested in buying the Oakland Athletics.

There seems to be some controversy over the decision. Ellison has claimed that he submitted a higher bid but his bid may have come too late. "This is my dream come true," said Lacob, in a statement and he stated that he and Peter Guber are committed to building the team into a championship organization that will "make all of us in the Bay Area proud."

As now-former owner Chris Cohan hoped it would, the sale price broke the record of $401 million set by the Phoenix Suns sale. Lacob and his group paid $450 million for the Warriors. Cohan bought the team for $120 million in 1995.

Tags: basketball team, golden state warriors, joseph lacob, larry ellison, nbc, peter guber

Billionaires Vie For Golden State Warriors

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

The Golden State Warriors basketball team is up for sale and the billionaires are lining up. Who is in the running? There are four main suitors. One group is led by Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison with others who already own a minor share of the team. He has been the front-runner for a long time and many hope that his billions and billionaire acumen will bring the team new glory.

Another contender is led by 24-Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov whose group includes Magic Johnson. Mandalay Entertainment chair Peter Guber is also in the running. His Mandalay Baseball Properties owns a bunch of minor league baseball teams and was reportedly once interested in buying the Oakland Athletics. Bay Area News Group says the fourth contestant is David Bonderman. Bonderman, a founding partner of TPG Capital, is a Texas billionaire perhaps most known in the media for having one of the most expensive birthday parties ever. For his 60th birthday he hired the Rolling Stones, John Mellencamp and Robin Williams to perform, spending around $7 million. He has a fortune of around $1.7 billion.

All four groups have had a tour of the Warriors' facilities and will be preparing their bids. Warriors owner Chris Cohan is rumored to be hoping for at least $400 million and if possible, breaking the $401 million record set when Robert Sarver bought the Phoenix Suns. Cohan bought the team for $120 million in 1995. It is hoped that the deal will be wrapped up this summer, giving the new owners time to set a direction for next season. Die-hard Warriors fans are hoping that the new owners will bring plenty of enthusiasm and cash to revive the floundering franchise.

Tags: basketball, chris cohan, david bonderman, golden state warriors, larry ellison, magic johnson, nba

Billionaire Larry Ellison Wants to Buy the Warriors

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping, Sports

The Golden State Warriors are for sale and billionaire Larry Ellison wants to buy, so what's the problem? It seems current team owner Chris Cohan is asking for too much money. He wants $400 million for the team today when he paid only $120 million when he bought it back in 1995. I'm no expert in valuing sports teams but that does seem like quite a jump, especially when the team has hardly been doing amazing things over the last 15 years.

Ellison seems determined, however, having been in talks with Cohan since last summer. He also seems a little frustrated, though, saying "I'm trying, I'm trying," and "Unfortunately you can't have a hostile takeover of a basketball team."

If Ellison does become owner of the Warriors his net worth of $22 billion will make him the richest NBA team owner in history.

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Tags: basketball, billionaire, billionaires, golden state warriors, GoldenStateWarriors, larry ellison, LarryEllison, nba, warriors

Larry Ellison Becomes A Tennis Titan

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports, Wealth

We knew tech billionaire Larry Ellison was into yacht racing but he is also a tennis enthusiast. This week he announced that he bought the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters event and the stadium where it is played. The tennis event will be held this year from March 8-21 in the Californian desert. Ellison bought the tournament and its grounds at Rancho Mirage from owners and founders Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore, former players and principals of PM Sports Management. He may have spent as much as $100 million on the facility. In a press release Ellison said he loves tennis and looks forward to being in Indian Wells each March to host the tournament.

According to an article in The Desert Sun, Indian Wells city officials are happy that Ellison is on board and hopeful that he will turn the Indian Wells Tennis Garden into a premier entertainment venue. There is also hope that the project will be beneficial to the entire Coachella Valley and that the stadium will become more than a one-event venue. The Indian Wells Tennis Garden opened in 2000 and has also hosted concerts including Eagles, Tom Petty and Andrea Bocelli and an annual Phoenix Suns NBA preseason game. Last year's BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament at Indian Wells was won by Rafael Nadal.

Gallery: The lavish world of Larry Ellison

Gallery: Scenes From The BNP Paribas Open 2009 at Indian Wells

Tags: andy roddick, AndyRoddick, bnp paribas, BnpParibas, indian wells tennis garden, IndianWellsTennisGarden, larry ellison, LarryEllison, oracle, rafael nadal, RafaelNadal, tennis tournament, TennisTournament

The Homes of America's Billionaires

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wealth

As an adjunct to their just-released annual list of the 400 richest Americans, Forbes has included a special report on the homes of some of the billionaires who made the cut. Capping the account is of course Bill Gates, who tops the 400 with his $57 billion fortune. It's hard to say exactly how much his high-tech 66,000-sq.-ft. house on Lake Washington near Seattle is worth. The property includes a 60-foot swimming pool with an underwater music system, a domed library with two "secret" bookcase doors and a 1,000-square-foot dining room, the mag notes.

Also featured: the historic seven-story Duke-Semans mansion (above) in Manhattan owned by cab driver-turned-mogul Tamir Sapir (net worth $1.9 billion), who bought it from Doris Duke's relatives for $40 million after a single walk-through. He's now said to be spending $10 million on renovations. And then there's Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison's (net worth $27 billion) 23-acre estate in Woodside, Calif., "reminiscent of a 16th-century imperial Japanese palace" which reportedly cost over $100 million to build. You can see a slideshow of these megamansions and more here.

Tags: Bill Gates, BillGates, Doris Duke, DorisDuke, Forbes, Larry Ellison, LarryEllison, New York, NewYork, Seattle, Tamir Sapir, TamirSapir

Larry Ellison's $3 Million Tax Rebate

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

It's the season for worrying every last deduction you can possibly take on your taxes. As you are sweating those last minute details here's a story to make your blood boil. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison will get a $3 mllion tax break because his Japanese-style home in Woodside, California is "functionally obsolete."

Ellison's Octopus Holdings LP bought the 23-acre site in May 1995 for $12 million and then sent to work on a nine year project constructing his version of Xanadu, a lavish 8,000-square-foot home based on a Japanese emperor's 16th century estate. Ellison seems to have a taste for all things Japanese, he also bought a home in Atherton in 1987 and turned it into a Japanese-style palace with seven bedrooms, a traditional tea house, bath house, gardens, a koi pond and waterfalls on 2.8 acres. That home was quietly put on the market in 2005 for $25 million. The property website for that home is here.

According to the Chronicle, the assessor's office based its January 2005 valuation of Elllison's Woodside home on reproduction costs, the $166.3 million it should have cost to build the home. The construction actually cost more than $200 million. But attorney William Bennett representing Octopus Holdings argued that the property was worth only $64.7 million at that time and in the two tax years, since entitling Ellison to a $3 million rebate on taxes paid. The appeals board agreed and so the $3 million will come from San Mateo county's property taxes paid this year. Of that $3 million it is estimated that nearly $1.4 million would have gone to schools in the area .

Ellison's home decline in value is shocking in an area that boasts very expensive real estate thanks to the Googleaires, people who made their fortune at Google and invested in big homes locally. The reason for the dip in value is essentially that Ellison created a home that no one else would want to buy. The home is said to suffer from "significant functional obsolescence" because the Japanese architecture, elaborate landscaping and over improvements to the property have made it a home that is costly to maintain and has reduced value to to others.

Ellison, who has a net worth of $25 billion according to Forbes, has turned his attentions to Southern California in recent years. In 2005 he picked up five lots in Malibu's pricey Carbon Beach area for a reported $65 million and is said to be looking into buying an NFL franchise for Los Angeles.

As the Chornicle article points out, perhaps the only good news out of this may come from the fact that it draws attention to the fact that homeowners can have their property values reassessed. With the declining real estate market in many regions some people may be in a situation where their property is being over-assessed but they are not aware of it.

[Thanks to Uncle Roger and Lana for calling our attention to this one]

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Tags: california real estate, CaliforniaRealEstate, expire-images:2009-3-27, larry ellison, LarryEllison, property values, PropertyValues, real estate, taxes, woodside

Larry Ellison

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