Meet Larry Ellison’s Hollywood children, David and Megan: the heirs to the Oracle co-founder’s billion-dollar fortune are nepo babies in film, but remain largely behind-the-scenes

Mar 21 , 2024

Meet Megan Ellison and David Ellison, the children of Larry Ellison; both are big behind-the-scene names in Hollywood. Photo: Getty Images

David successfully pivoted from his ‘dumb money’ image with the success of his company Skydance Media, and is reportedly in talks with Shari Redstone over Paramount

Megan founded Annapurna Pictures at 24 and received US$1.8 billion from her father when she turned 25 – Nimona, the film she bought from Disney, was also just nominated for an Oscar

Larry Ellison is a co-founder of software company Oracle, and he has an estimated net worth of US$158.8 billion, per Forbes, at the time of writing. He is also fond of “trophy homes”, with a billion-dollar property portfolio.

But not much is known about his two children, David and Megan. Considering both kids have Hollywood careers, and mingle with celebs and studio execs alike, it’s surprising how they’ve remained somewhat under the radar.

Here’s what you need to know about the two relatively quiet nepo babies.

David Ellison dropped out of college to work in film

David Ellison dropped out of USC to appear in a US$60 million movie, Flyboys. Photo: @davidellisonskydance/Instagram

Per The New York Times, David, 41, always had a love for movies and studied film at the University of Southern California. But he eventually dropped out of university, choosing to act in a US$60 million film, Flyboys, starring alongside James Franco. But according to the Hollywood Reporter, the 2006 film made less than US$18 million at the box office.

It was widely speculated that David dug into his own bank account to cover the film’s massive losses, which kicked off the idea that he had “dumb money” – a term described by Forbes as “rich people throwing their vast wealth around to finance expensive films”.

How David Ellison pivoted from “dumb money”

David Ellison shared a photo of himself and his dad Larry Ellison. Photo: @davidellisonskydance/Instagram

With money in his pocket and his love for movies, David changed gears to become a financier and producer instead. He was involved in big flicks like Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) and Star Trek Into the Darkness (2013). Fast forward to 2019 and his company, Skydance Media, had wins like Netflix hit Grace and Frankie – but also flops like Gemini Man starring Will Smith.

Tony Blair, Larry Ellison and David Ellison at the J.P. Morgan Summit earlier this year. Photo: @davidellisonskydance/Instagram

David then sold parts of Skydance for around US$275 million, while at the same time raising US$1 billion in revolving credit, per The New York Times. He leaned into streaming, which proved beneficial with the pandemic. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that he was “the first Ellison to arrive in Hollywood and defy the town’s dumb-money expectations”.