Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle Corp., grew up thinking he would move to Los Angeles, attend USC, get married and become a doctor.Many people he grew up with on the south side of Chicago expected him to do just that, he told the thousands attending USC’s 133rd commencement today on the University Park Campus.
“Over time, their dreams became my dreams. They convinced me that I should be a doctor.” Ellison attended college and took courses in pre-medicine. But he dropped out at age 21. “Whatever the underlying reasons, I was unable to make myself into the person that I thought I should be,” Ellison said. “So I decided to stop trying.”
“Virtually everyone important in my life — my family, my teachers, my girlfriend — wanted me to be a doctor,” said Ellison, who this week announced a $200 million gift for USC to establish a cancer research center, the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC.
He packed up his belongings and moved to Berkeley. Soon after, he began to work in computer programming. He embraced the outdoors. Ellison married, but his wife began to ask him to take classes and perhaps get a degree.
Ellison took some classes, but the most enjoyable one, he found, was a sailing course.
His wife kicked him out and accused him of lacking ambition — not knowing that later he would become an accomplished leader in Silicon Valley and an expert sailor, bringing back the America’s Cup in 2010 and 2013 with Oracle Team USA.
Ellison said divorce marked a pivotal moment.
“Once again, I was unable to live up to expectations of others,” said Ellison, who went on to found the tech giant, Oracle Corp., in 1977. “But this time, I was not disappointed in myself for failing to be the person they thought I should be. Their dreams and my dreams were different. I would never confuse the two of them again.”
Nearly 17,000 degrees were given today to a diverse group of USC graduates, representing all 50 states and 112 nations. Commencement drew an estimated 60,000 people to support their loved ones in celebration of their achievements.
USC President C. L. Max Nikias praised the graduates gathered in Alumni Park, noting that they are forever members of the Trojan Family.
“Virgil reminds us that the Trojans’ will could even bend the will of the gods toward their favor. The Trojans always seized destiny,” Nikias said. “So remember: You do not go forward alone. You go forward as a member of a global Trojan Family with more than 350,000 members. And we shall always be at your side.”
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