In the last few years, Oracle’s co-founder and current chief executive, Larry Ellison, has emerged in the tennis industry as its leading pioneer.
In 2009, Ellison made a $100M bid for his first tennis stadium acquisition, Indian Wells, which plays host to one of tennis’ most popular tournaments – the BNP Paribas Open. Ellison injected another $100M annually to keep the place tidy and up-to-date.
As an added investment towards his firstborn in tennis, Ellison added 8,000 seats and upped the purse from $4M to $11M at Indian Wells. He also equipped this estate by measure of a technology-friendly touch by installing a state-of-the-art Hawkeye line-calling system.
Two years later, he increased his arsenal by buying California’s 249-acre Porcupine Creeks for $43M.
On a spontaneous tangent, Porcupine Creek was personalized and built for Tim and Edra Blixseth. And as an added splash of spice, two of Porcupine Creek’s holes were inspired by two presidents, George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford and once straddled the market in 2010 for a brisk $75M.
Taking a 98% ownership of Hawaii’s Lanai Island, Ellison proposed a 50-acre tennis academy in 2013. In the same year, Ellison promised an inflation in men’s and women’s compensation to $860,000 per athlete.
Next on the agenda is organizing a boating competition in Bermuda in 2017, America’s Cup (“Auld Mug”).
Ellison has previously hinted at owning the Golden State Warriors, but in concerns for raising prices to finance renovations and suites, other NBA owners objected to the idea. But, Ellison still plans to call either an NFL or NBA team his own some day.
As of the closing bell on June 19, Oracle’s (ORCL) stock dipped 1.15% to $41.59 a share.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to Stephen Dunn/Getty
