forbes.com
Clare O’Connor

All 141 square miles of Larry Ellison’s latest purchase, Lanai. Image via Wikipedia.

Oracle founder Larry Ellison is no stranger to the good life. The third richest person in America (sixth in the world) has bought his fair share of flashy toys over the years.

The avid yachtsman spent more than $100 million in a quest to win the prestigious America’s Cup sailing race; his BMW Oracle racing team defeated biotech billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli in 2010.

As befits a man worth $36 billion, Ellison has a garage full of pricey cars, including a McLaren F1. He also collects planes, his favorite being his Italian Marchetti jet.

Then there was his private 454-foot mega yacht, the Rising Sun, a floating pleasure palace featuring a wine cellar, movie theater and basketball court. Ellison spent much of his free time aboard before selling the luxury cruiser to a fellow billionaire, music mogul David Geffen, for a rumored $300 million.

Now the software tycoon has a new, even more expensive passion project to pursue, having bought out another billionaire (are you keeping count? This is number four in this story so far).

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