Madden Mischief

A while ago I sold my Oracle shares for a modest profit and I’m about to buy some more since now they’re priced so attractively.  Also, I have in mind creating a new title for Oracle’s founder, Larry Ellison, whom I can see as the Oracle of Peace.   From where did this idea descend?  Heaven?  Who knows, I get so many. In the PR biz you’re hatching ideas like chickens lay eggs.

I don’t know how much this war affects Oracle’s heavy involvement in multinational technology or its focus on enterprise software, cloud computing, and database management.  But I do believe we’re on our way to making the Strait of Hormuz passable again while I’m holding my breath as President Trump weighs sending in ground troops if “negotiations” don’t work.    

Still, somehow in the context of this nightmarish drama, the word “oracle” keeps capturing my imagination.  So does Ellison’s first name as one of my closest pals at Temple University was a Larry, Larry Linderman, who became travel editor of Playboy Magazine in which my late brother Don Madden had a full-page cartoon every month for 50 years as he was one of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s favorite cartoonists.

Far above Playboy and Penthouse, you’ll find oracles inspiring all of us in the right way in more noble, respected and uplifting religious books of which the pinnacle is the Bible.

The term oracles of God in the New Testament refers to the Word of God. In modern usage the oracle often refers to a person, specifically a priest or medium through whom gods or spirits speak, but I don’t believe Ellison was ever ordained and I have read he even dropped out of college.  An oracle can also be the place where the priest or medium receives divine messages. But an older definition, the one used by Bible translators, is “a message from God.”

So, what does all this have to do with Ellison, cloud computing and the Strait of Hormuz?  Perhaps it’s related to what I’ve read about Ellison not only being awesomely successful but his pledging to give 95% of his wealth to philanthropy.  And due to Oracle’s AI boom, massive contracts, and smart investments, Ellison in 2025 was reported to have a net worth that had skyrocketed to nearly $400 billion, briefly dethroning Elon Musk as the world’s richest person.

Today, due to the war, rising fuel costs, and a nearly 30% plunge in Oracle’s stock price due to investor impatience with the enterprise-software giant’s debt-fueled buildout of AI data centers, Ellison’s personal fortune reportedly has dropped by $60 billion, so now it’s well off its peak but still mighty impressive as it’s close to $200 billion and many expect it to rebound.

Meanwhile, Ellison’s charitable giving has played a significant role in his philanthropic journey, which also impresses me.  I admire that he’s so focused on long-term philanthropy in science, healthcare, climate change, and artificial intelligence and his primary vehicle for this noble journey is the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT).  This for-profit organization based at the University of Oxford aims to tackle global challenges from healthcare to food insecurity.  Ellison’s contributions include a $200 million donation to the University of Southern California for cancer research and significant investments in the Ellison Medical Foundation, which was focused on aging and disease prevention before its closure in 2013.

Ellison’s philanthropic efforts reflect a strategic, impact-driven approach to addressing some of the world’s most critical and complex problems.  God bless him, for that.  And now he just might like this idea I have for him to sponsor nonprofit organizations that can provide emergency aid and comfort to those affected most by this war, Iranian children. 

I would urge Larry to sponsor such international humanitarian organizations as the American Red Cross and Catholic Relief Services soon as they’re able to care for those most affected by this war that we waged to halt a ruthless regime from acquiring nuclear weapons!  Can you just imagine the devastation that could have caused!

Maybe talk of this would help motivate more Iranians to implore this murderous regime to make peace sooner on behalf of the most innocent among them, children. 

So, to bring such a scenario to life, I’m urging Larry to make them an offer they can’t refuse!   If successful, I’ll be the PR guy making sure that besides being known as the genius who founded Oracle, Larry Ellison would also be revered forevermore as the Oracle of Peace.

While Tom Madden sounds like a peacemaker, he’s really a public relations pro who has a knack for advocating actions and policies that can generate good news, such as a billionaire offering a monetary reward as an incentive for ending this bloody war in Iran and then begin caring for the most innocent victims it has affected, children. Madden is the founder of TransMedia Group, of which his daughter Adrienne Mazzone is president.  Before launching TransMedia, he was vice president, assistant to the president, at NBC, then led by TV wunderkind Fred Silverman.