HOW A $45 MN DONATION BROUGHT ELLISON DEEPER INTO TRUMP'S CIRCLE

The billionaire’s private friendship with the president has helped Oracle’s business and his son’s media conglomerate

- Emily Glazer, Annie Linskey & Jessica Toonkel

Larry Ellison didn’t join the gaggle of CEOs that traveled with President Trump on his state visit to China. He wasn’t among the guests at a White House dinner Trump hosted with tech titans. He also skipped the UFC event on Trump’s 80th birthday.

The Oracle billionaire didn’t need to be at these public events. Ellison, 81, has developed a more-private friendship with Trump that has helped his tech company’s business as well as his son’s effort to assemble a media conglomerate. Key to the relationship: Ellison's money.

Ellison gave roughly $45 million to a political nonprofit group supporting Trump’s election efforts in 2024, according to people familiar with the fundraising. Such funding isn’t subject to disclosure rules and hasn’t been previously reported.

More recently, Ellison has given millions more to groups that support Trump since the election, the people said, with some of the funds going to Trump’s legacy initiatives in Washington, D.C. Oracle is among the corporate sponsors listed by Freedom 250, a Trump-aligned group hosting celebrations for the country’s 250th birthday.

Trump’s investment accounts were actively trading Oracle shares earlier this year, including a sale worth at least $1 million in January and a purchase worth at least $1 million in March, federal disclosure filings show. In a statement, the Trump Organization has said that the president’s investments are independently managed and that he isn’t involved in selecting or approving investments.

Trump is “committed to working with every American business and business leader,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai. Oracle declined to comment.