Ellison axes plan to sell up to $7.5bn of Oracle shares

By the Editorial Team · Monday, September 14, 2026

Larry Ellison, co-founder and largest shareholder of Oracle, has canceled his plan to sell up to $7.5 billion worth of company shares and currently does not intend to sell any. This reversal comes amid Oracle’s strategic shift toward AI infrastructure, ongoing regulatory challenges, and a significant stock price decline since its OpenAI partnership was announced.

Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, has abandoned plans to sell up to $7.5 billion worth of the company’s shares, reversing a move disclosed just days earlier. Oracle, headquartered in Austin, Texas, announced on Saturday that Ellison did not sell any stock under the previously announced trading plan and currently has no intention to sell any shares.

The initial plan, revealed in Oracle’s most recent quarterly filing, involved the sale of as many as 50 million shares by the end of October. At Friday’s closing price of $150 per share, the proposed stake was valued at approximately $7.5 billion. The company did not provide a reason for Ellison’s change of course.

Ellison, 82, remains Oracle’s largest individual shareholder, holding about 40 percent of the company. According to the latest proxy filing, he has pledged 346 million shares as collateral for personal loans. A source close to Ellison described the shares as undervalued but did not specify whether he plans to acquire additional stock in the near future.

Oracle recently reported increased revenue from its data center operations, driven by growing demand for AI infrastructure. However, the company’s shares have fallen more than 50 percent since announcing its $300 billion partnership with OpenAI in September, reflecting investor concerns over margin pressures related to its aggressive AI investment strategy. Oracle has faced regulatory challenges in its efforts to expand AI data center capacity, which has slowed infrastructure build-out for OpenAI.

In addition to raising debt and issuing new shares, Oracle disclosed on Friday that it set aside an additional $700 million to cover severance expenses amid ongoing layoffs. The company’s focus on AI has placed it at the forefront of the growing data center market, where it competes to meet the needs of AI-driven clients.

Ellison has made significant financial moves beyond Oracle. In December, he agreed to backstop $40 billion in equity financing for a hostile bid by his son David Ellison for Warner Bros Discovery. The proposed merger involving Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, has been delayed until at least June next year due to antitrust concerns raised by multiple U.S. states.

Beyond his business ventures, Ellison supports research initiatives including the Ellison Institute of Technology in Oxford and the Ellison Medical Institute in Los Angeles. With a net worth estimated at $204 billion, Ellison briefly surpassed Elon Musk as the world’s richest individual during Oracle’s recent surge, highlighting his central role in the company’s transition towards AI-focused infrastructure.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.