Larry Ellison recalled how Steve Jobs rejected his plan to buy Apple in the 1990s, telling him that making more money was not the goal. Speaking at the University of Southern California’s 2016 commencement ceremony, Oracle founder Larry Ellison said he had arranged financing to acquire Apple, which was then valued at about $5 billion. But Apple founder Steve Jobs, who was no longer with the company after losing a bitter power struggle with CEO John Sculley and the company’s board of directors, chose to return to Apple through its acquisition of NeXT. Jobs insisted that he wanted to lead the company from what he called the “moral high ground” rather than through a takeover that could benefit him financially.
When Larry Ellison wanted to buy Apple
During his speech, Ellison said Apple was struggling at the time and his solution was straightforward. “My idea was simple. Buy Apple,” he said. According to Ellison, Apple was worth around $5 billion then, and he had already arranged to borrow the money needed for the acquisition. “All Steve had to do was say yes,” he recalled.Instead of selling Apple, Jobs proposed a different plan.Ellison said Jobs wanted Apple to acquire NeXT Computer, rejoin the company’s board, and allow directors to decide on their own that he was the right person to lead Apple again.Wondering how the plan would benefit them financially, Ellison asked, “If we don’t buy Apple, how are we going to make any money?”Steve Jobs’ reply surprised him. “You don’t need any more money,” Jobs said. He added, “I’m not doing this for the money. I don’t want to get paid. If I do this, I need to do this standing on the moral high ground.”‘The most expensive real estate on earth’Larry Ellison said Steve Jobs’ approach taught him an important lesson about leadership. He described the “moral high ground” as “the most expensive real estate on earth.”According to Ellison, Jobs’ decision ultimately paid off as he returned to Apple, rebuilt the company and turned it into “the most valuable company on earth.”
