From unpaid electric bills to $300M island: Larry Ellison buys Hawaii property 3x the size of SF

Tech billionaire Larry Ellison once struggled so much to pay the utility bills that kept his workshop running that he had to ask energy companies for extra time. Decades later, the business tycoon had no trouble writing a $300 million cheque to buy 98 per cent of a Hawaiian island that is three times the size of San Francisco.The Oracle Corporation co-founder, who is now worth an estimated $256 billion, spent the early years of his career in the 1970s working from a small garage. Money was always tight, forcing him to make a deal with power companies to pay just 10 per cent of his bill upfront so the electricity in his home would not be cut off.For Ellison, keeping the power on had nothing to do with heating, lights, or household comfort.