Larry Ellison's 'runaway spending'

Making sport of billionaire CEOs is a national pastime, and controversial executives such as Larry Ellison make particularly easy targets. So when the San Francisco Chronicle published a report today citing the Oracle chief's "habitual runaway spending," the subject quickly became a topic of virtual water coolers.

But rather than taking predictable shots at Ellison, some in the blogosphere wonder if the flamboyant CEO's personal money management somehow reflects the way he has run his company. Oracle has gone on a shopping spree of its own in the last several months, after all, yet its stock price remains stagnant.

Blog community response:

"When you're incredibly wealthy, the idea is to make money on interest, not spend it...The emails also offer a unique glance into the personality of the software titan. Read the outtakes and you might have some idea why Oracle seems to have been treading water for several years."
--Davenetics

"Anyone is right to argue that Ellison is certainly a good credit risk, but when you consider that all of these guys count their wealth in terms of their stock holdings and Ellison is famous for rarely selling his stock, one has to seriously consider the words of his accountant."
--Venture Chronicles

"Oracle, in case you didn't know, has recently purchased PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and Siebel in an effort to become all things to all people and to compete effectively in the ERP market with the big boys at SAP. If your company uses (or is considering using) any of Oracle's products, you MUST read this post. If you're like me and simply wish failure on Larry Ellison at every opportunity, it is a worthwhile read as well."
--Curmudgeon-in-Training