Current Event: response to Larry Ellison stepping down as CEO of Oracle

According to CNN, Oracle founder Larry Ellison stepped down as CEO this past week. While I do not think it is very interesting that he stepped down, I think it is interesting how his success story is different than that of other successful people in the PC industry. In most success stories, there were two kinds of people: those who knew the technical side of a new computer technology, and those who knew the business side of it. However, Ellison is different because he possessed both the ability to develop a new technology and the ability to see how it was useful. According to the article, Ellison helped to create the first relational database, which shaped the way we work with computers today. Ellison is also noted to be a cunning businessman, known for his "cutthroat business strategy". These two accomplishments show that he is both a technical genius and a shrewd businessman. It is not surprising to me that someone who possesses both these traits has risen to be the fifth richest person in the world.