“CEO of everything.” This is how Donald Trump defines one of his great allies, a billionaire Silicon Valley which is at the center of your vision for some USA in which power is distributed between the conservative political elite and the technological one, forming an inseparable amalgam that also takes control of social control, internetlos media and, therefore, the story that makes up public opinion.
Although the perpetual thirst for attention Elon Musk has made him the most media tycoon, the old tycoon who is making the most of his alliance with Trump is Larry Ellison. At 81 years old, the co-founder and president of the giant software Oracle He is also the second richest man on the planet with a Net worth exceeding $365 billionaccording to Forbes. This mammoth personal fortune is due to his web hosting business, the fundamental infrastructure of the network, but also to the opportunism of knowing how to convert his company into a provider of Internet services. cloud computingthe energetic and computational architecture essential for the boom of the artificial intelligence.
Beyond Oracle, Ellison was known for decades for his opulent eccentricities. close friend of Steve Jobshas been married up to six times, owns multiple mansions, luxury cars and yachts, at least four original paintings by Van Gogh and 98% of the island of Lanai, in Hawaii. His hobbies include flying fighter planes with his other billionaire friends and competing in regattas, winning the America’s Cup twice.
Larry Ellison (left) with tennis legend John McEnroe and Microsoft boss Bill Gates during a match in Indian Wells on March 13, 2015. / MICHAEL NELSON / EFE
Trump for business
Ellison always sold himself as a centrist along the lines of Bill Clintonalthough in recent years he has veered to the right along with other Silicon Valley popes. Still, Trump has never been his first choice. In 2016 he supported Marco Rubiocurrent Secretary of State, and four years later to Tim Scott. The magnate donates money to both Democrats and moderate Republicans, but he has seen in the president a source for his businesses. In 2020, seven months after organizing a fundraiser for his re-election, Oracle closed a deal to be the main partner of TikTok in USA and bid to buy the business of the Chinese app, which the president threatened to ban.
With Trump back in office, Ellison has asserted his status as a landowner of the cloud computing and the IA to convert their technological influence into political capital. Oracle aims to control TikTok’s spun-off U.S. business, beefing up its management of user data and overseeing the creation of its new algorithm. The giant also participates in the Stargate Projectan ambitious plan to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure, and is skyrocketing spending on lobbies to cash in on new government contracts. Hence he is selling his software to the administration with a 75% discount.
In almost nine months of Trump’s mandate, Oracle’s shares have skyrocketed more than 85% and with it the wealth of Ellison, who controls 41% of the company. Last September his name went around the world when he became richer by almost 100,000 million in just one day, the largest daily gain in history.
Larry Ellison, along with Trump, Masayoshi Son (Softbank) and Sam Altman (OpenAI), during an event at the White House on January 21. / AARON SCHWARTZ / POOL / EFE
Media influence and friend of Netanyahu
Beyond a pragmatic interest, Ellison also shares a certain worldview with Trump. In August, the magnate helped his son and owner of the production company Skydance, David Ellisonto buy the entertainment giant Paramount for 8,000 million. The merger, crucial to building its own media empire, has allowed it to take control of the CBSone of the most influential media outlets in the US. Under the leadership of Ellison Jr., the channel has canceled the comedy program The Late Show with Stephen Colberthighly critical of Trump, and has placed the anti-woke Bari Weiss in charge.
Close friend of Benjamin Netanyahuwhom he has supported in his judicial processes for corruption and whom he even tried to sign for a management position at Oracle, the tycoon has donated tens of millions to the armed forces of Israel and has been accused of financing the brutal offensive against Gaza Strip. Critics warn that his control over TikTok may respond to concerns Washington for the influence that the video platform is having among its youngest citizens on uncomfortable issues for the White House like the war in Gaza.
Among his allies is also Tony Blairwhose foundation has provided up to 257 million. The former British prime minister has been designated by Trump’s peace plan as the next political manager of the transition of power in the Palestinian enclave.
Spy on citizens
Trump and Ellison agree on the need to put technology at the service of citizen surveillance. “Citizens will behave in the best way because we are constantly recording and observing everything that happens,” he confessed last year in a meeting with financial analysts. Oracle is one of the many American companies that has profited from building the surveillance apparatus of Chinaan omnipresent Big Brother that Beijing uses to control the population and repress any hint of dissent.
It is not surprising, then, that after the terrorist attack on 11-S tried to give away the software from Oracle to the Government of George W. Bush to build a national database to identify all citizens or, in 2014, to disown the analyst Edward Snowden for leaking the cables that exposed to the world how the US was massively spying on thousands of people.
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