Inside tech billionaire Larry Ellison’s US$160 million superyacht Musashi: the Oracle co-founder’s 88-metre, Japanese-style vessel was even featured on Netflix’s The Dropout

Jun 21 , 2022

Oracle’s co-founder Larry Ellison loves his superyachts, with his current 88-metre Feadship Musashi far from the biggest he has owned. Photos: AP, Boat International

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page have yachts, but theirs weren’t depicted in The Dropout with Amanda Seyfried as Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes, unlike Musashi

As the eighth richest person in the world, Ellison is worth US$93 billion and co-founded Oracle; he once bought US$1 billion worth of shares at Elon Musk’s Tesla

We all know that the richest people on this planet love to spend millions of dollars buying collectible cars, luxurious properties, private aircraft, and other trappings of wealth. But nothing really comes close to a multimillion-dollar superyacht when it comes to establishing your place in the pecking order among the super-rich, as it’s often more about displaying the owner’s wealth and status than a means of relaxation afloat the ocean.

Co-founder of Oracle, Larry Ellison, is currently the eighth richest person in the world. Photo: AFP

From Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, many billionaires own massive superyachts that serve as the perfect representation of their owners’ luxurious lifestyles. One extravagant example is the stunning superyacht named Musashi that American billionaire Larry Ellison owns.

Ellison co-founded the software giant Oracle in 1977 and helmed it for 37 years. He is worth more than US$90 billion and, according to Forbes, he is currently the eighth richest person on earth.

So what’s his impressive superyacht like?

Who is Larry Ellison?

Oracle co-founder, shareholder, board chair and chief technology officer, Larry Ellison. Photo: AP

In case you need a refresher, Ellison co-founded American computer technology giant Oracle, which began in 1977 as a start-up with only three programmers, and grew to become the world’s second-largest supplier of business applications. Although Ellison relinquished the CEO post at Oracle in 2014, he currently serves as board chair and chief technology officer. He also currently holds a 31 per cent share in the company.

The stock price of Oracle soared in 2021, making him briefly the fifth richest person in the world. As of June 20, Ellison’s net worth was US$93 billion, according to Forbes. Ellison famously bought three million shares in Tesla, worth US$1 billion in 2018, and has been on the board ever since. Tesla has confirmed that he will be stepping down from the board of directors in 2022.

The Musashi superyacht’s samurai connection

Larry Ellison’s previous motor yacht Rising Sun, a name that refers to Japan’s national flag. Photo: AFP

Ellison is known for his love of ultra-luxurious yachts and he has owned several of them over the years, including the 58-metre Ronin, the 75-metre Katana and the gigantic 138-metre Rising Sun. Astute readers might have noticed that all the luxury vessels mentioned have names directly linked to feudal-era Japan.