In the high-stakes world of Silicon Valley, where fortunes are built on code and innovation, few figures loom as large as Larry Ellison. As the co-founder and executive chairman of Oracle Corporation, Ellison has amassed a net worth that briefly topped $393 billion earlier this year, making him the world’s richest person for a fleeting 24 hours in September.
But beyond boardrooms and billion-dollar deals, Ellison’s influence extends into geopolitics, particularly his unwavering commitment to Israel. Through multimillion-dollar donations, strategic media acquisitions, and direct engagement with political leaders, Ellison has positioned himself as one of Israel’s most powerful advocates in the United States.
Ellison’s philanthropy toward Israel is both prolific and targeted, often focusing on military support and border communities. In 2007, he pledged $500,000 to fortify a community center in Sderot, a southern Israeli town battered by rocket fire from Gaza, after learning it lacked protection against attacks.
This donation addressed immediate threats to civilians, particularly children suffering psychological trauma from constant bombardment.
His most substantial contributions flow to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF), a U.S.-based nonprofit that funnels funds to Israeli troops for equipment, scholarships, and recreational facilities. In 2014, Ellison donated $10 million at a Los Angeles fundraiser.
This was eclipsed in 2017 by a record-breaking $16.6 million gift—the largest single donation in FIDF’s history—to build wellness centers on a new campus for co-ed IDF conscripts.
At the Beverly Hills gala where he announced it, Ellison declared, “Since Israel’s founding, we have called on the brave men and women of the IDF to defend our home… In my mind, there is no greater honor than supporting some of the bravest people in the world.”
Overall, Ellison’s gifts to FIDF exceed $26 million, making him the organization’s top private donor.
These funds subsidize everything from academic aid for veterans to rest-and-recreation programs for units, effectively easing the Israeli military’s budget burdens.
Oracle matches employee contributions to related causes, like Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency services.
While critics, including a 2019 $1 billion lawsuit accusing him of funding “genocide” (later dismissed), decry these as enabling occupation,
Ellison views them as honoring soldiers who protect “our home.”
|
Year
|
Donation Amount
|
Recipient
|
Purpose
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
2007
|
$500,000
|
Sderot Community Center
|
Fortification against rocket attacks
|
|
2014
|
$10 million
|
Friends of the IDF
|
General support for soldiers
|
|
2017
|
$16.6 million
|
Friends of the IDF
|
Wellness facilities for co-ed conscripts
|
|
Ongoing
|
>$26 million total
|
Friends of the IDF & settlements
|
Military aid and community support
|
Ellison’s influence amplifies through media ownership, where his family is acquiring assets that could steer public discourse on Israel. In August 2025, his son David Ellison’s Skydance Media finalized an $8 billion merger with Paramount Global, gaining control of CBS News, CNN, Warner Bros., and other outlets.
Though nominally led by David, Larry—worth $301 billion—holds the financial reins, raising alarms about pro-Israel bias in American journalism.
The deal includes installing Bari Weiss, a self-described “Zionist fanatic” and vocal Israel defender, as CBS’s editor-in-chief or ombudsman to combat “bias” and DEI initiatives.
Weiss’s Free Press, which Ellison is reportedly buying for $100 million, has lambasted CBS for airing critiques of Israeli actions in Gaza.
Leaked emails reveal David Ellison coordinating with former IDF chief Benny Gantz in 2015 on a cyber campaign to sabotage pro-Palestine activists, including funding Israeli firm Black Cube for “social engineering” ops.
Ellison’s media reach extends to TikTok, where Oracle is auditing its U.S. operations amid national security concerns—partly over anti-Israel content.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the potential acquisition as “the most important purchase going on right now” for shaping global opinion.
With Ellison’s involvement, critics fear algorithmic tweaks to suppress Palestinian voices, aligning with his past calls for mass surveillance to enforce “best behavior.”
Ellison’s political interventions are as bold as his philanthropy. A close confidant of Netanyahu—whom he vacationed with on his Hawaiian island and offered a $450,000 Oracle board seat—he has lobbied on the PM’s behalf, including pressuring mogul Arnon Milchan to yield a lawyer during Netanyahu’s corruption trials. Netanyahu, in turn, encouraged Ellison to acquire Israeli media assets.
In the U.S., Ellison’s Republican pivot since 2016 includes vetting politicians for Israel loyalty. Hacked emails from 2015 show him coordinating with Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor to assess Sen. Marco Rubio’s credentials before funding his presidential bid with $5 million via a super PAC. “Did he pass your scrutiny? Did you have a chance to talk about Israel?” Prosor emailed post-meeting.
Today, as Secretary of State, Rubio advances pro-Israel policies, including Trump’s Gaza plan, which Ellison indirectly supports via $350 million to the Tony Blair Institute.
Ellison also backs the Blair Institute’s post-war Gaza blueprint, tasked by Jared Kushner, blending his tech, media, and political spheres.
These moves, per Drop Site News, illustrate “the fusion of pro-Israel lobbying, media consolidation, and tech infrastructure.”
Larry Ellison’s support for Israel—totaling tens of millions in donations, media empires poised to curate narratives, and political kingmaking—cements his role as a pivotal ally. Yet it draws fire: lawsuits decry his IDF funding as complicit in occupation, and Oracle’s Israel-first stance has sparked employee backlash.
As he eyes TikTok and CBS, questions swirl about free speech and undue foreign sway.For Ellison, though, it’s straightforward: Israel is “our home,” and his fortune ensures its defense in boardrooms, newsrooms, and the halls of power. In an era of digital battlefields, his playbook—philanthropy fused with influence—may redefine advocacy. Whether it fortifies alliances or erodes discourse remains a point of fierce debate.
