Larry Ellison’s net worth is largely tied up in his shares in Oracle, and like many wealthy individuals whose wealth exists mostly in stock, he often uses borrowed money to finance his expenses. Specifically, Ellison takes out personal loans using his Oracle shares as collateral.
With this strategy, he pays no taxes on the borrowed money since loans aren’t taxed. At the same time, he maintains his control of shares in Oracle. And, as Oracle has repurchased its stock over the years, Ellison’s overall percentage stake in the company has increased.
Borrowing against shares (as opposed to selling them for cash to fund expenses) is a common strategy used by wealthy people to avoid paying capital gains taxes they would otherwise owe after selling stock.
Here’s a closer look at how many Oracle shares Ellison owns, and how many he has used as collateral for personal loans over the years.
How many Oracle shares has Larry Ellison pledged as collateral for personal loans?
As of Oracle’s last proxy statement (September 2025), Ellison has pledged 346 million shares of Oracle to secure funds he has borrowed. That amount has fluctuated over the past two decades, though, as shown in the table below.
These 346 million shares represent about 12% of Oracle’s outstanding stock, meaning over 10% of the company is technically at risk of repossession by creditors should Ellison fail to pay his debts.
In its proxy statements, Oracle loosely defines Ellison’s pledged shares as “shares of Oracle common stock as collateral to secure certain personal indebtedness.”
How much are Larry Ellison’s pledged collateral shares worth?
As of mid September 2026, the 346 million Oracle shares Ellison has pledged as loan collateral were valued at around $50 billion based on the September 14, 2026, closing price of $144.79 per share.
Larry Ellison’s pledged collateral Oracle shares by year
The following is a table of Oracle shares owned by Larry Ellison that he has pledged to secure his loans, along with his stock ownership and percentage stake, by year. Data were collected from Oracle’s annual proxy statements from 2007 to 2025.
|
Date of shares pledged |
Shares pledged (in millions) |
Change in number of shares from prior period (in millions) |
Percent change in shares pledged from prior period |
Average share price since prior pledge |
Percent change in share price |
Larry Ellison’s Oracle shares |
Percent stake in Oracle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
9/19/2025 |
346 |
69 |
24.9% |
$185.89 |
53.6% |
1,158,232,353 |
40.6% |
|
9/16/2024 |
277 |
-30 |
-9.8% |
$121.01 |
28.6% |
1,153,232,353 |
41.6% |
|
9/18/2023 |
307 |
0 |
0.0% |
$94.12 |
15.7% |
1,152,982,353 |
42.1% |
|
9/19/2022 |
307 |
-10 |
-3.2% |
$81.35 |
14.3% |
1,157,482,353 |
42.9% |
|
9/13/2021 |
317 |
0 |
0.0% |
$71.16 |
32.3% |
1,157,482,353 |
42.4% |
|
9/8/2020 |
317 |
12 |
3.9% |
$53.79 |
3.5% |
1,164,232,353 |
38.3% |
|
9/20/2019 |
305 |
0 |
0.0% |
$51.99 |
7.8% |
1,172,919,853 |
35.4% |
|
9/17/2018 |
305 |
45 |
17.3% |
$48.23 |
10.3% |
1,171,605,969 |
30.6% |
|
9/18/2017 |
260 |
-55 |
-17.5% |
$43.72 |
12.4% |
1,169,596,417 |
28.0% |
|
9/19/2016 |
315 |
15 |
5.0% |
$38.90 |
-6.3% |
1,166,041,236 |
28.0% |
|
9/21/2015 |
300 |
50 |
20.0% |
$41.49 |
8.9% |
1,161,791,324 |
27.0% |
|
9/8/2014 |
250 |
35 |
16.3% |
$38.12 |
15.9% |
1,155,934,580 |
26 % |
|
9/3/2013 |
215 |
76 |
54.7% |
$32.89 |
12.6% |
1,150,934,580 |
25 % |
|
9/10/2012 |
139 |
99 |
247.5% |
$29.20 |
-4.2% |
1,143,934,580 |
23.5 % |
|
8/15/2011 |
40 |
-180 |
-81.8% |
$30.48 |
30.4% |
1,138,534,580 |
22.4 % |
|
8/10/2010 |
220 |
0 |
0.0% |
$23.37 |
25.3% |
1,184,321,324 |
23.4 % |
|
8/10/2009 |
220 |
-222 |
-50.3% |
$18.64 |
-11.7% |
1,178,771,324 |
23.4 % |
|
8/12/2008 |
442 |
-83 |
-15.8% |
$21.12 |
14.1% |
1,173,721,324 |
22.6 % |
|
9/7/2007 |
525 |
n/a |
n/a |
$18.51 |
n/a |
1,270,096,324 |
24.6 % |
What does Larry Ellison do with the money he’s borrowed?
Over the years, Ellison’s reported purchases have included property in Hawaii and the financing of his hobbies, including yachting and aviation.
Most recently, he has used his shares to expand his empire to include media interests. Ellison reportedly financed a large portion of the $8 billion needed for Skydance Media, which is managed by his son David, to purchase Paramount Global in August 2025, and the combined entity became known as Paramount Skydance.
Separately, in late 2025, Ellison reportedly also planned to use his shares toward the $40.4 billion financial guarantee in the equity financing for Paramount Skydance’s more than $100 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. As of mid-September 2026, that deal was still pending regulatory approval.
Related: Oracle’s stock splits: History & prospects explained
Do Ellison’s pledged collateral shares pose a risk to Oracle shareholders?
Ellison owned a significant stake in Oracle, amounting to a 40.6% stake as of 2025. As Oracle repurchased shares over the years, Ellison has avoided selling large amounts of shares, thereby increasing his overall ownership stake in the company.
In Oracle’s 2025 proxy statement, the company’s governance committee said that “Mr. Ellison’s pledging arrangements do not pose a material risk to stockholders or to Oracle,” and that reasoning was based on several factors, including the following:
- “The Board believes that Mr. Ellison has the financial capacity to repay his personal term loans without resorting to the pledged shares.”
- “The pledged shares are not used to shift or hedge any economic risk in owning Oracle common stock.”
- “None of Mr. Ellison’s shares are pledged as collateral for margin accounts.”
How many Oracle shares does Ellison own?
Ellison owned 1.158 billion shares in Oracle as of late 2025. He is the largest shareholder in the company, with a 40.6% stake. That ownership was valued at $167.7 billion, based on the September 14, 2026, closing price of $144.79 a share.
Most of his net worth is derived from his Oracle shares. Forbes listed Ellison the 7th wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of $189.4 billion, as of mid-September 2026.
When did Larry Ellison first pledge his Oracle shares as collateral for loans?
The earliest recorded pledge was in 2007, when Ellison pledged 525 million shares. Since then, at least 40 million of Ellison’s Oracle shares have been pledged as loan collateral each year at the time the company’s proxy statement.
Related: Oracle’s dividends: History, yield & payout ratio explained
