Editing Larry Ellison (section)

==Early life and education==
Ellison was born on August 17, 1944, in New York City to Florence Spellman, an unwed Jewish mother.<ref name="Jspace">{{cite web |work=Jspace |url=http://www.jspace.com/news/articles/the-jewish-billionaires-of-forbes/8044 |title=The Jewish Billionaires of ''Forbes'' |date=March 14, 2012 |access-date=March 7, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328103300/http://www.jspace.com/news/articles/the-jewish-billionaires-of-forbes/8044 | archive-date=March 28, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-Features/The-worlds-50-Richest-Jews-1-10 |title=The world's 50 Richest Jews: 1–10 |newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=September 7, 2010 |access-date=July 20, 2013 |archive-date=January 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121083239/http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-Features/The-worlds-50-Richest-Jews-1-10 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/11/13/291560/index.htm |newspaper=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |title=The Next Richest Man in the World Larry Ellison is a very lucky guy: He has more money than anyone—except Bill Gates |first1=Andy |last1=Serwer |first2=Julia |last2=Boorstin |first3=Jessica |last3=Sung |publisher=CNN |access-date= August 3, 2020 |archive-date= September 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200924134745/https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/11/13/291560/index.htm |url-status= live}}</ref>{{sfn|Symonds|Ellison|2004|pp=332-33}} His biological father was an Italian-American [[United States Army Air Corps]] pilot. After Ellison contracted [[pneumonia]] at the age of nine months, his mother gave him to her aunt and uncle for adoption.{{sfn|Symonds|Ellison|2004|pp=332-33}} He did not meet his biological mother again until he was 48.<ref name=Rohrlich>{{cite web |first=Justin |last=Rohrlich |url=http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/oracle-ibm-ellison-ampex-sdl-billionaire/11/18/2009/id/25369 |title=Rags To Riches CEOs: Larry Ellison |publisher=Minyanville.com |access-date= March 10, 2011 |date=November 18, 2009 |df=mdy-all |archive-date= September 30, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110930164322/http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/oracle-ibm-ellison-ampex-sdl-billionaire/11/18/2009/id/25369 |url-status= live}}</ref>

Ellison moved to Chicago's [[South Shore, Chicago|South Shore]], then a primarily Jewish middle-class neighborhood.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gourtsilidou |first=Maria |date=2021-06-01 |title=Profile: Larry Ellison – The billionaire who owns nearly all of Hawaiian island Lanai |url=https://ceoworld.biz/2021/06/01/profile-larry-ellison-the-billionaire-who-owns-nearly-all-of-hawaiian-island-lanai/ |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=CEOWORLD magazine |language=en-US |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418233555/https://ceoworld.biz/2021/06/01/profile-larry-ellison-the-billionaire-who-owns-nearly-all-of-hawaiian-island-lanai/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He remembers his adoptive mother, Lillian Spellman Ellison,<ref name=":2">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Larry Ellison {{!}} Biography, Oracle, & Facts |encyclopedia=Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Larry-Ellison |access-date=2023-04-18 |language=en |archive-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015213628/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Larry-Ellison |url-status=live }}</ref> as warm and loving, in contrast to his austere, unsupportive, and often distant adoptive father, who had chosen the name Ellison to honor his point of entry into the United States, [[Ellis Island]]. Louis Ellison was a government employee who had made a small fortune in Chicago real estate, only to lose it during the [[Great Depression]].{{sfn|Symonds|Ellison|2004|pp=332-33}}

Although Ellison was raised in a [[Reform Judaism|Reform Jewish]] home by his adoptive parents, who attended synagogue regularly, he remained a religious skeptic. At age 13, Ellison refused to have a [[bar mitzvah]] celebration.<ref>Symonds and Ellison, [https://books.google.com/books?id=OOYb-0DNG18C&q=jewish&pg=PA110 pp. 19–20] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516193027/https://books.google.com/books?id=OOYb-0DNG18C&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=&source=bl&ots=fy6EWUqJSt&sig=pDxV5AhFxrOlLZygnCVz6bud0jI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fYiAT5vsAufX0QHIjJmBCA&ved=0CFoQ6AEwCA%23v=onepage&q=jewish&f=false#v=snippet&q=jewish&f=false |date=May 16, 2016 }}</ref> Ellison states: "While I think I am religious in one sense, the particular dogmas of Judaism are not dogmas I subscribe to. I don't believe that they are real. They're interesting stories. They're interesting mythology, and I certainly respect people who believe these are literally true, but I don't. I see no evidence for this stuff."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Mike |title=The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison: *God Doesn't Think He's Larry Ellison |publisher=Harper Business |year=2003 |isbn=978-0060008765 |page=19 |quote=Larry was a religious skeptic from the beginning. The Ellisons, who were Jewish, attended synagogue regularly—"and dragged me along" he said. "While I think I'm religious in one sense, the particular dogmas of Judaism are not dogmas I subscribe to. I don’t believe that they're real. They're interesting stories, they're wonderful mythology, and I certainly respect people who believe that these are literally true, but I don't. . . . I see no evidence for this stuff." To please his parents, Ellison tried to study the Torah, to no avail. "I couldn’t make myself do it. ... I lost interest. My mind wandered in four seconds. It was an impossibility," he said.}}</ref> Ellison says that his fondness for Israel is not connected to religious sentiments but rather due to the innovative spirit of Israelis in the technology sector.{{sfn|Symonds|Ellison|2004|p=389}}

Ellison attended [[South Shore High School (Chicago)|South Shore High School]] in Chicago{{sfn|Symonds|Ellison|2004|p=508}} and later was admitted to [[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign]] and was enrolled as a [[pre-medical|pre-med]] student.{{sfn|Symonds|Ellison|2004|p=508}} At the university, he was named science student of the year.<ref name="Saleem Lives">{{Cite book |last=Virk |first=Azhar Saleem |title=Inspiration from Lives of Famous People |date=February 2003 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=9780595268245 |page=384}}</ref><ref name="Icons Business">{{Cite book |last=Drexler |first=Kateri M. |title=Icons of Business: Jeff Bezos |year=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780313338632 |page=515}}</ref> He withdrew without taking final exams after his sophomore year because his adoptive mother had just died. After spending the summer of 1966 in California, he then attended the [[University of Chicago]] for one term, where he studied [[physics]] and mathematics{{sfn|Symonds|Ellison|2004|p=508}} and also first encountered [[computer design]]. He then moved to [[Berkeley, California]], and began his career as a computer programmer for different companies.<ref name=":2" />