[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 149 (Tuesday, December 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO LARRY J. ELLISON, FOUNDER OF ORACLE

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                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 9, 2014

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an extraordinary 
American visionary, Mr. Larry Ellison, as he steps down from his 
position as CEO of Oracle, the world-renowned company he founded in 
Redwood City, California.
  Larry Ellison was born in the New York City borough of the Bronx in 
1944, and from an early age showed a keen aptitude for math and 
science. He attended the University of Illinois where he was named 
Science Student of the Year and the University of Chicago. He was 
awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Howard University in 2005.
  For more than 35 years Larry Ellison has built and guided Oracle to 
its current position as the world's largest database-software company 
and one of the biggest providers of business programs. Oracle has a 
market capitalization of $185 billion and annual revenues of $38 
billion, numbers that attest to Ellison's technical brilliance, 
strategic genius and unsurpassed business acumen.
  Larry Ellison worked as a technician for Firemen's Fund, Wells Fargo 
Bank and as a programmer at Amdahl Corporation, where he was part of a 
team that built the first IBM-compatible mainframe system. In 1999, 
Ellison, together with his Amdahl colleagues Robert Miner and Ed Oates, 
founded Software Development Labs which became Oracle after building a 
database named Oracle for the Central Intelligence Agency.
  A Silicon Valley legend, Larry Ellison is a man of widely diverse 
interests. He has received many honors, including being inducted into 
the Academy of Achievement in 1997. He is number five on the Forbes 
list of world billionaires, and is a generous philanthropist who has 
given millions to many causes, particularly in the field of medicine. 
He has signed the Giving Pledge which is a commitment to donate most of 
his wealth to non-profit organizations. He is the father of two, film 
producers David and Megan. He's also a pilot and competitive sailor 
whose team won the America's Cup in 2010 and in 2013.
  President John F. Kennedy said, ``Americans by nature, are 
optimistic. They are experimental, inventors, and are builders who 
build best when called upon to build greatly.'' Mr. Speaker, I ask the 
entire House of Representatives to join me in honoring Larry Ellison, 
an American icon, for his extraordinary vision and great contributions 
to American technology. He has enhanced the leadership of our nation 
around the world by ``building greatly.''

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