The “wisdom” of Larry Ellison

Not being an habitué of Forbes and the like, I will be the first to admit I had not heard the name Larry Ellison until Pastor Allen used him as an illustration in his sermon on Sunday. So in case you hadn’t either, I’m here to fill in the blanks for you.

Mr. Ellison is currently the fourth richest man in the world, a multi-billionaire, and the founder of Software giant Oracle Corporation. The quote from the sermon was “The Difference between God and Larry Ellison is that God doesn’t think He is Larry Ellison” is actually the title of a biography of Mr. Ellison by investigative reporter Mike Wilson.

The point of the illustration in the sermon was that there are rich fools (just as the Bible tells us in several places). In Mr. Ellison’s case, his foolishness is evident in his embracing of just what decadent billionaires are expected to do with their wealth: live high, fast, and hard - with lots of women, private jets, yachts, and other “playthings.” He is on his fourth marriage, after a considerable bachelorhood between numbers three and four. He donates about one percent of his income to a charitable foundation (as an alternative to a legal investigation of some of his business practices), and has targeted Microsoft as the devil incarnate.

Here are some quotes to give you a sample of his “wisdom.” I could not help commenting (in italics) about a few of them.

“A corporation's primary goal is to make money. Government's primary role is to take a big chunk of that money and give it to others.” Okay, so fiscal conservatives might agree on this one. But this can’t be a complaint on Ellison’s part, because he has also stated (for the record) that Bill Clinton was a great president, and that he wishes Clinton were still in office.

“Bill Gates is the pope of the personal computer industry. He decides who's going to build.” Sounds like a jealous kid on the playground just before an epic “King of the Hill” battle.

“Bill Gates wants people to think he's Edison, when he's really Rockefeller. Referring to Gates as the smartest man in America isn't right... wealth isn't the same thing as intelligence.” Which Mr. Ellison also illustrates….

“I have had all of the disadvantages required for success.” Define “disadvantage.” Define “success.” Then define “shallow.”

“It's Microsoft versus mankind, with Microsoft having only a slight lead.” This proves the “devil incarnate” reference above, since we know who the real enemy of mankind is.

“When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for everyone telling you you're nuts.” Poor baby…join the community of Christ-followers, and….everybody PLUS his brother will tell you you’re nuts.