Larry Ellison
Coming in at the third spot, Ellison is estimated to have slightly over $53 billion. He is 70 years old and resides in Woodside, California. Oracle is the source of his financial success. His humble beginnings include being born in the Bronx to a single mother who eventually sent him to Chicago to be raised by his aunt and uncle. Ellison learned the basics of computer programming at a young age but dropped out of college and spent several years bouncing from job to job in California. After becoming a computer programmer at Amdahl Corporation, he was part of building the first mainframe system that was IBM-compatible. In 1977, along with a few other Amdahl colleagues, he started his own business. Ellison and his team eventually created Oracle, a relational database management system. Although originally used for the CIA, IBM eventually used Oracle for its own mainframe systems. Oracle’s sales continued to grow, and eventually it became a billion-dollar company. In the last few months, Ellison has announced that he plans to step down as head of Oracle, but he plans to stay involved with the company. He will be particularly involved with Oracle’s technology development.
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- Larry Ellison
Christy Walton
At 60 years old, Walton is reportedly worth $42 billion. This particular Walton family member is synonymous with the store Walmart. She currently lives in Jackson, Wyoming. Christy Walton is not only the wealthiest woman in the United States, but she is currently the richest woman in the world, as well. Walton married into the richest family in the world when she wed John Walton, a former Green Beret and son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Christy Walton happens to be the wealthiest of the Waltons not only due to the unrivaled success of Walmart but because of a side investment John made in First Solar. The bulk of her money still comes from shares in Walmart. Though it’s not without its share of ups and downs, buying Walmart stock through online trading or through traditional means has proven to be a good investment.
Christy Walton