A new Vanity Fair profile of Larry Ellison, published Oct. 1, 2026, presents a reported portrait of the Oracle co-founder’s reach across the company, Lanai, media and politics.
In a separate X post about the story, reporter Tom Dotan said he spent the last year talking to people close to an “increasingly reclusive” Ellison to understand what he wants.
Oracle’s AI push is the profile’s central tech claim
The clearest tech argument in Vanity Fair’s piece is about Oracle. The magazine says Ellison is pushing the company from its long-established database business into “one of the essential data center providers of the AI boom.”
Vanity Fair says that move has saddled Oracle with $130 billion in debt, turned its free cash flow negative and tied its fortunes closely to OpenAI.
The profile extends that picture beyond Oracle
Vanity Fair uses an octopus metaphor to describe different “arms” reaching into Oracle, American media and politics. The profile says Ellison has long been fixated on the octopus, and a former executive quoted by the magazine says Ellison’s joke is that he is the octopus.
On media, the profile says David Ellison’s Skydance has acquired Paramount and, with it, CBS News, and that it has also won Warner Bros. Discovery in a $110 billion deal.
On politics, Vanity Fair says Ellison bankrolls Tony Blair’s nonprofit organization, which the magazine describes as encouraging governments to adopt technologies including AI. The profile also describes Ellison as a supporter of Benjamin Netanyahu and says he hosted the Israeli prime minister on Lanai while Netanyahu faced corruption charges at home.
Lanai is where the profile gets most concrete
The Lanai passages are where Vanity Fair makes its broader argument tangible. The profile describes Ellison as effectively controlling much of the island and points to examples including housing, Lanai’s only gas station and an upgraded movie theater.
In its comparison with previous owner David Murdock, Vanity Fair characterizes Ellison as running the island “like a distant god.”
The piece also moves beyond business and ownership into how Ellison sees himself. Vanity Fair reports that Ellison has told colleagues and friends that he models himself on Winston Churchill and Napoleon. It also quotes a former Oracle executive saying Ellison wants to be seen as “a world historical figure.”
Across those sections, the profile links Oracle’s AI buildout to its broader portrait of Ellison’s reported reach in media, politics and the island he largely owns.
Comments