How Larry Ellison's $45M donation to a group supporting President Trump brought Ellison deeper into Trump's circle, helping Oracle and his son's WBD acquisition
The billionaire's private friendship with the president has helped Oracle's business and his son's media conglomerate
Wall Street Journal
Context & Ripple Effects
Ellison’s Trump involvement had moved from a 2020 fundraiser and public support for Oracle’s TikTok pursuit to a far more consequential relationship spanning Oracle and his son David’s media ambitions. Related coverage also traces Ellison’s financing of David’s Paramount bid and his advocacy for Paramount in the contest for WBD.
The significance is the convergence of a major enterprise-technology supplier, a prospective media owner, and presidential access in areas where policy and regulatory decisions can materially shape outcomes.
First-order effects
Ellison’s $45 million contribution and personal relationship give Oracle and the Ellison-backed WBD transaction a more direct channel into Trump’s circle, according to the report.
David Ellison’s media-expansion plans gain support from a family patron whose political access is now tied to both the WBD effort and Oracle’s business interests.
Second-order effects
Rival bidders and media companies face a deal environment in which political relationships can become a meaningful part of transaction strategy alongside financing and operating plans.
Oracle’s rivals in politically sensitive technology markets, including the TikTok-related arena highlighted in earlier coverage, may need to account for the company’s unusually close alignment with the administration.
Third-order effects
If this pattern persists, the boundary between technology contracting, media consolidation, and political fundraising could become more consequential to competitive positioning than it was when these businesses were treated as separate sectors.
That would likely intensify scrutiny of how presidential access intersects with regulatory and commercial outcomes, particularly when one donor’s interests span both technology infrastructure and major media assets.
The trend: This is one data point in the growing fusion of billionaire-backed media consolidation, strategic technology businesses, and political access.
How Large Donations Brought Larry Ellison Deep Into Trump's Circle and Netanyahu's Circle. The billionaire's private friendship with the president has helped him acquire TikTok, CNN, CBS and become a dominate figure in what news Americans hear. https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Under Trump, the Ellisons & their companies have gotten mega-merger approvals + pieces of TikTok & a $500b AI data center plan. A $45m dark $ donation to a Trump 501c4 helped cement the relationship, the @WSJ reports. Good story (that I had been chasing) https://www.wsj.com/...
Paramount says “no commitments from either David or Larry Ellison have been made to any government body, State AG or federal agency regarding the future of CNN or any other news property, other than the goal to deliver truth-based journalism.” https://www.wsj.com/...
“His official residence is now an oceanfront estate in Manalapan, Fla., which he bought for $173 million in 2022. It is about a 20-minute drive from Trump's club.” @EmilyGlazer, @AnnieLinskey and @jtoonkel follow the money. https://www.wsj.com/...
The ultimate corruption, selling influence out of the Oval Office: Larry Ellison's friendship with President Trump has helped Oracle's business and his son's media conglomerate https://www.wsj.com/...
WSJ — What Ellisons gave: —$45M to a Trump-aligned '24 campaign group —Millions to pro-Trump groups after elex —Bought the Free Press and installed Bari Weiss —$ to be corporate sponsor of Freedom 250 — What Ellisons got: —$500B Stargate Project —TikTok …