Oracle's Ellison relocates from California to Hawaii
The billionaire owns about 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai
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Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has moved from California's Silicon Valley to a Hawaiian island where he owns almost all of the land
The billionaire reported his relocation to the software giant's staff members on Monday, writing in a company-wide email that he would not follow the company's headquarters from Redwood City, Calif., to Austin, Texas.
The 76-year-old said that he'll "be using the power of Zoom" to communicate with employees, signing off "Mahalo, Larry."
Ellison, the world's 11th-richest person with a net worth of about $75 billion, owns about 98% of Lanai, according to Hawaii News Now.
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison introduces the Oracle Database In-Memory during a launch event at the company's headquarters in Redwood Shores, California, on June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Noah Berger
The chairman paid hundreds of millions of dollars for Hawaii's sixth-largest island in 2012, just two years before he stepped down as the company's CEO.
Ellison is the main employer of Lanai's 3,000 residents, owning resorts, hotels, the main grocery store, the housing stock, and the newspaper, according to Bloomberg.
Oracle did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 43-year-old company is part of the S&P 100, with 138,000 employees.
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Ellison and Oracle aren't the only Silicon Valley power players to leave California this year.
Prolific startup investor Keith Rabois announced his move to Miami in September, and the Bay Area has recently seen the departures of PayPal's Peter Thiel and Palantir's Alex Karp and Joe Lonsdale.
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Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced last week that he had left the Golden State for Austin.
Musk cited high taxes and coronavirus-related health restrictions as reasons for his departure.