When you think of Larry Ellison, you probably picture the co-founder of Oracle, yachts, and one of the richest men on Earth. But behind the billionaire lifestyle, Ellison has long been fascinated by something far more universal: our battle against aging and death.
Ellison has said that death “never made sense” to him. To him, the idea that a person can simply exist one moment and vanish the next is absurd. Instead of accepting mortality, he sees it as a challenge worth solving.
The Ellison Medical Foundation
In 1997, Ellison launched the Ellison Medical Foundation, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the biology of aging. For more than 15 years, his foundation became one of the largest private funders of longevity research in the world.
- Over $430 million donated to research grants.
- 600+ scientists supported, studying how and why we age.
- Grants of up to $1 million each for leading scholars.
Although the foundation stopped funding new projects in 2013, its impact helped put anti-aging research on the scientific map at a time when most institutions ignored it.
Beyond Aging: Cancer Research
Ellison’s ambitions didn’t stop there. In 2016, he donated $200 million to the University of Southern California to create the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine. The center focuses on cutting-edge cancer research and interdisciplinary approaches to health.
Why It Matters
Unlike some of his Silicon Valley peers, Ellison hasn’t created a biotech startup to chase immortality. Instead, he’s used philanthropy as his main weapon—funding scientists, institutions, and bold ideas. Altogether, he has directed nearly $600 million toward the fight against aging and disease.
For Ellison, it’s simple: death is just another problem to solve. And with resources like his, it’s a problem humanity can no longer afford to ignore.
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Ellison, now 80, is doing a good job managing biological aging
— Bryan Johnson (@bryan_johnson) September 16, 2024