Larry Ellison’s Distractions

Ellison’s love of sailing is no secret, but this year his Oracle Team USA racing team reached new heights of glory with an unprecedented come-from-behind victory over New Zealand, taking home the America’s Cup. The CEO was so eager to see his team’s climactic races that he ended up skipping a keynote he was supposed to deliver at Oracle’s OpenWorld conference, to the irritation of many customers.

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[ America’s Cup 2013: Just another day at the office for Larry Ellison]

Ellison’s love of Japan is well known, and he’s also got a penchant for collecting works of Japanese art. His collection reportedly includes several hundred pieces, more than 60 of which were on display this year at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

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Ellison’s known for his outlandish spending sprees but his purchase of Hawaiian island Lanai may rank at the top. But he didn’t spend $500 million on the island just to sit on the beach. In fact, Ellison is planning to turn the island into a green technology research hub.