In the latest "New Yorker," there's a funny cartoon. Actually, there are funny cartoons in ALL "New Yorkers", yet I am referring to one specifically.
Two executive-types are sitting next to each other. The setting appears to be some tony mens-club, and both men seem rather smug. One says to the other, "I have my pants put on...one leg at a time." Which is a lead-in to today's tale.
Larry Ellison is the co-founder and CEO of Oracle. He is also one of the world's richest men...with a net worth of around $17 Billion, most of it in Oracle stock.
He is also perennially over-extended.
In a series of emails, obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, that were ordered unsealed by a judge in a shareholder lawsuit...a number of embarrassing details were revealed regarding Larry Ellison's personal finances.
In 2002, Philip Simon, Ellison's personal financial advisor wrote, "I'm worried, Larry. I think it's imperative that we start to budget and plan."
Why would Mr. Simon be concerned?
Larry Ellison appears to have runaway spending habits...and habitually taps out his $1 Billion+ line of credit. According to deposition testimony, Mr. Ellison's itemized expenditures included: interest accrual-$75 million annually, a villa in Japan-$25 million, a new 244-foot motorized yacht-$194 million over three years, "lifestyle"-$20 million annually, etc.
Mr. Simon goes on to scold Mr. Ellison, "I know this e-mail may/will depress you. However, I believe it's my job to address issues you'd prefer not to confront. You told me years ago that it's OK to raise the 'diversification issue' with you quarterly...Well, I'm doing so. View this as a call to arms."
Simon goes on to say, "We have a freight train going down a track, hitting a debt wall."
Let me stop and say something. Kudos to Philip Simon for his candor in this situation. Not only is Larry Ellison one of the five richest persons in the world, yet he's also known to be the archetypal, hard-charging, 'Type A', CEO-type personality. It takes some chutzpah to speak to your Mr. Bigshot client like this.
In a famous exchange between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, Fitzgerald was reputed to say, "The rich are different from you and me." Hemingway's glib response, "Yes, they have more money."
And if you are Larry Ellison...you also have $75 million in annual interest payments.
By the way, in the aforementioned shareholder lawsuit, Ellison agreed to settle by donating $100 million to charity and to pay $22 million to the lawyers, out of his own pocket.
If you are interested, Philip Simon works for Howson & Simon, a boutique CPA firm based in Walnut Creek, CA...if you want an accountant who's not afraid to lay it on the line.
My disappointment must have shown. "Everything happens for the best," Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to job hunt. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
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Posted by: Jordan Heels | November 18, 2011 at 09:09 PM