News about Larry Ellison

According to Semafor, Elon Musk has invested $1 billion in the new Skydance, though neither Musk nor Paramount has commented. Former Liberty Media chief John Malone had predicted Musk would contribute about $10 billion and also pointed to ties with Larry Ellison and a possible SpaceX deal. The company was formed through one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history, leaving the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery with nearly $90 billion in debt, and rising interest rates increase the need for equity. Larry Ellison had personally guaranteed more than $40 billion of the equity financing, and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds led by Saudi Arabia will hold just under 50% of the combined company.

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison pledged shares of Tesla and SpaceX as collateral for bank loans this year, according to a Wall Street Journal report dated October 20, 2026 that cited filings. The loans reportedly helped fund his son David Ellison's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, but Tesla and SpaceX have not confirmed the pledges, and no share counts or loan amounts have been disclosed. Oracle's proxy shows Ellison pledged 413 million Oracle shares, up from 346 million a year earlier, or about 36% of his holdings. The Skydance deal closed on October 6, 2026, with $47 billion of Class B stock sold at $12.00 a share, and Bloomberg estimated the Ellisons invested about $17 billion. Skydance closed at $7.10, roughly 41% below the issue price, so the stake backing the collateral is now worth less than what the Ellisons paid.