# Larry Ellison



## garyc (May 7, 2002)

..an oldie but still worthy

What follows is a transcript of the speech delivered by Larry
> Ellison,
> CEO of ORACLE (2nd Richest Man on the Planet) at the Yale 
> University
> last month:
>
> "Graduates of Yale University, I apologize if you have endured this
> type of prologue before, but I want you to do something for me.
> Please,
> take a good
> look around you. Look at the classmate on your left. Look at the
> classmate on your right. Now, consider this:
>
> Five years from now, 10 years from now, even 30 thirty years
> from now, odds are the person on your left is going to be a loser.
> The person on your right, meanwhile, will also be a loser. And
> you, in the middle? What can you expect? Loser. Loserhood.
> Loser Cum Laude.
>
> "In fact, as I look out before me today, I don't see a thousand
> hopes for a bright tomorrow. I don't see a thousand future leaders
> in a thousand industries. I see a thousand losers.
> "You're upset. That's understandable. After all, how can I,
> Lawrence 'Larry' Ellison, college dropout, have the audacity to
> spout such heresy to the graduating class of one of the nation's
> most prestigious institutions? I'll tell you why. Because I,
> Lawrence "Larry" Ellison, second richest man on the planet, am a
> college dropout, and you are not.
>
> "Because Bill Gates, richest man on the planet-for now,
> anyway-is a college dropout, and you are not.
> "Because Paul Allen, the third richest man on the planet, dropped
> out of college, and you did not.
> "And for good measure, because Michael Dell, No. 9 on the list
> and moving up fast, is a college dropout, and you, yet again, are
> not."
>
> "Hmm... you're very upset. That's understandable. So let me
> stroke your egos for a moment by pointing out, quite sincerely,
> that your diplomas were not attained in vain. Most of you, I
> imagine, have spent four to five years here, and in many ways
> what you've learned and endured will serve you well in the years
> ahead. You've established good work habits. You've established
> a network of people that will help you down the road. And you've
> established what will be lifelong relationships with the word
> 'therapy.' All that of is good. For in truth, you will need that
> network. You will need those strong work habits. You will need
> that therapy.
> "You will need them because you didn't drop out, and so you will
> never be among the richest people in the world. Oh sure, you
> may, perhaps, work your way up to No. 10 or No. 11, like Steve
> Ballmer. But then, I don't have to tell you who he really works
> for, do I? And for the record, he dropped out of grad school. Bit
> of a late bloomer.
>
> "Finally, I realize that many of you, and hopefully by now most of
> you, are wondering, 'Is there anything I can do? Is there any hope
> for me at all?' Actually, no. It's too late. You've absorbed too
> much, think you know too much. You're not 19 anymore. You have
> a built-in cap, and I'm not referring to the mortar boards on your
> heads."
>
> "Hmm... you're really very upset. That's understandable. So
> perhaps this would be a good time to bring up the silver lining.
> Not for you, Class of '00. You are a write-off, so I'll let you
> slink off to your pathetic $200,000-a-year jobs, where your checks
> will
> be signed by former classmates who dropped out two years ago."
>
> "Instead, I want to give hope to any underclassmen here today. I
> say to you, and I can't stress this enough: leave. Pack your
> things and your ideas and don't come back. Drop out. Start up.
> "For I can tell you that a cap and gown will keep you down just
> as surely as these security guards dragging me off this stage are
> keeping me dow..."
>
>
>
>
>


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## pumaro (Apr 17, 2003)

He must have been waiting along time to say it.


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## misrule (May 6, 2002)

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/ellison.htm

Sorry.

Mark


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

There was no suggestion that it was actually true. Jokes / satires seldom are.

Hence the 'oldie' preface. :wink:


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## misrule (May 6, 2002)

Fair enough. Just pointing out that it wasn't, in case anybody was in any doubt. 

Mark


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