Billionaire Larry Ellison once fought the entire city of San Jose so he could land his private jet at midnight, but when it came to buying a $490 million megayacht, he did it over a latte and two emails
Tech mogul Larry Ellison spent two years in a never-ending legal battle with the city of San Jose just to ensure his private jets would take off and land at midnight. The billionaire is willing to fight a lengthy court battle to continue receiving his $38 million. Gulfstream V after local airports imposed a noise curfew. With the support of a full legal team, the case eventually reached U.S. federal court.But he bought a boat named “Xu’ Very different. The Oracle co-founder commissioned the $490 million, 454-foot megayacht with iconic British designer Jon Bannenberg over a latte and two emails, without any lawyer involvement.The comparison shows the unpredictability of the world’s fifth-richest man, a perfectionist who recently saw his personal fortune fluctuate by more than $47 billion in less than a week.
A floating palace sealed by two emails
the way Asahi It’s unusual for a project of this size to come together. Most billionaires rely on lawyers, consultants and months of negotiations when commissioning a superyacht. Ellison didn’t. After rejecting designs from several companies, the Oracle founder met with British designer Jon Bannenberg in London. A chat over coffee, a mock-up and two emails were enough to seal the deal for the 7,841 gross tonnage yacht, which was delivered in 2004.Bannenberg created the first design in an office almost completely devoid of computer-aided design (CAD) software. Although the legendary designer died before the yacht was completed, his vision remains at the heart of the project.
Rising Sun Super Yacht
Several of Bannenberg’s signature design concepts appear in Asahi. One is a suspended tubular walkway that passes through the main engine room, allowing guests to get a close look at the machinery that powers the yacht, which can reach speeds of 30 knots (55.6 km/h). The other is an exposed Z-frame structure that separates the tender launch area. It was originally intended to be made of raw aluminum, but after Bannenberg’s death, plans were changed and it was instead painted metallic.As construction of the yacht continued, Ellison decided to make it even bigger. Asahi It was extended to 454 feet, which is 47 feet longer than Paul Allen’s Octopus. Additional space accommodates facilities such as a double-decker cinema, wine cellar, helipad, swimming pool and basketball court. The yacht can accommodate 18 guests and requires a crew of 45, and Ellison retained the entire deck for his own use.
A return to minimalism?
Despite its grandeur AsahiIts sheer size ultimately caused the Oracle billionaire to reconsider his approach to luxury goods. Ellison once spent about $100 million chasing the America’s Cup, but he chose to turn to minimalism.In 2010, after owning the vessel for five years, he sold his remaining stake in the vessel to media mogul David Geffen, who had previously co-owned the vessel. Ellison sometimes regretted abandoning his earlier 244-foot yacht Katana, which his close friend Steve Jobs considered “nearly perfect.” after sale AsahiEllison downsized considerably, purchasing a 288-ft. Musashi $130 million.
288-foot Musashi, $130 million
How one of the world’s richest men lost a whopping $47 billion
As Ellison changes the way he consumes luxury goods, his personal wealth has also taken a hit. His net worth fell from about $296 billion on June 2 to about $249.7 billion less than a week later, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire rankings.The $47.3 billion drop was driven by investors exiting technology and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks. Since Ellison owns about 41% of Oracle’s shares, the company’s stock price fell 4% on June 9, and his wealth evaporated by about $10.4 billion in one day. The drop moved him from second to fifth on the world’s richest list, behind Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin and Larry Page.Ellison’s wealth has grown significantly over the past year, driven down by investor excitement about Oracle’s cloud business and artificial intelligence plans. The surge briefly pushed his wealth past $400 billion, making him only the second person after Elon Musk to reach that level. Currently, Oracle shares are about 41% below their September 2025 peak.The company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings, with analysts forecasting earnings of $1.96 per share on revenue of $19.1 billion. Wall Street observers are tracking Oracle’s order backlog, which is expected to rise to $661 billion from $553 billion in March. The backlog now exceeds the annual economic output of several small countries, as well as the total market capitalization of Oracle itself.
