LARRY ELLISON: ORACLE LOST 80% IN SIX MONTHS AND NEARLY CAME APART

7 OCTOBER 2026 · 10:19 · 19 VIEWS

In 1990 Larry Ellison's Oracle, which had doubled its sales almost every year, saw its numbers unravel. Its shares fell by almost a third in a single day, shareholders sued, its accounts were restated, it reported the first loss in its history, its banks cut its credit, and it lost about four fifths of its value in six months. This episode follows the whole story: the intelligence project that gave Oracle its name, the version two with no version one, the sales machine, the March crash, the September layoffs, Jeff Henley's clean up, the Nippon Steel loan, Ray Lane and Oracle Seven, the lawsuits and the securities charges, and the recovery. Founder Stories tells the story of one founder per episode, told plainly and in order.