Ellison (Oracle) reneges on $115 million donation to Harvard

Ellison reneges on $115 million donation to Harvard
Benjamin Pimentel, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, June 27, 2006


(06-27) 17:11 PDT -- It's official: Larry Ellison is backing away from a promise to donate $115 million to Harvard University.

The Oracle founder and CEO, the world's 15th richest person, had made headlines in 2005 when, in an interview with The Chronicle, he pledged to make a major donation to an institute at Harvard to study world health.

But Ellison has decided against making the contribution after the resignation of Harvard President Larry Summers who is about to leave the institution.

"It's official," said Oracle spokesman Bob Wynne. "The reason is the relationship he had with Larry Summers who leaves this week. Larry Summers was the brainchild of this whole concept. With his departure, Larry reconsidered his decision."

snip...
Summers resigned in February, amid faculty uproar over comments suggesting that differences in "intrinsic aptitude" may explain why fewer women than men succeed in math and science.

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/27/BUGN5JKN8T4.DTL

:D

Just my opinion, worth what ya paid for it. But I suspect Ellison's a damn dirty asshole. Before 9/11 I didn't like him much. After 9/11, his "Privacy is Dead" statement followed by pushing for the national ID card, backed by Oracle of course, really made me... er, think less of the man. Now, all these reports of the database of telephone calls containing the phrase "world's largest database" and "largest database ever built" make me think I smell Oracle marketing. If Ellison's not the one with his arm up Big Brother's butt, I'll eat my hat.

Oh yeah, I had two beers tonight. One bit me. I'm feeling ornery ;-)

Why did he pick Harvard, to whose already swollen money-bags $115 million is small change?

Or a slave class destined to become expendible.

:shrug: