Lawrence Joseph "Larry" Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American internet entrepreneur, businessman and philanthropist. He was the chief executive officer of the software company Oracle Corporation between its foundation in 1977 and 2014. In 2014, he was listed by Forbes as the third-wealthiest man in America and as the fifth-wealthiest person in the world, with a fortune of $56.2 billion.Ellison was born in New York City but grew up in Chicago.