Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, adds TikTok's algorithm to his media empire.

New York.- Billionaire Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, one of the most ruthless figures in Silicon Valley and the new 'czar' of the media in the United States, managed to become the guardian of the algorithm of the renewed American TikTok. Ellison, who is 81 years old and lives on the Hawaiian island of Lanai - of which he bought almost the entirety in 2012 for 300 million dollars - built his empire on databases for the CIA and is now one of the richest people in the world, with a fortune of 227.7 billion dollars, according to Forbes.

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The TikTok Algorithm

In the last few hours, TikTok closed a $14 billion deal to establish a US subsidiary of the platform and avoid a ban in the US. With the agreement, the tech giant Oracle, the giant chaired by Ellison, the private equity firm Silver Lake and the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will collectively own 45% of the US subsidiary, which will be called 'TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC'. The joint venture will be responsible for U.S. data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance. Meanwhile, the joint venture will license the algorithm from the Chinese company ByteDance and retrain it with data from US users to ensure that the content seen by users in this country is free from external manipulation, according to the company. Oracle will be the security partner responsible for auditing and validating compliance with the agreed national security terms. Ellison stepped down as Oracle's CEO in 2014, after 37 years at the helm of the company, and is now the chairman and chief technology officer of the company, of which he owns approximately 40%.

Musk, Trump, and Netanyahu Among His Friends

The magnate, who has been through six marriages, also served on Tesla's board of directors between 2018 and 2022. The CEO of the electric vehicle company, Elon Musk, described Ellison as "one of the smartest people". Furthermore, Musk considers the magnate - who lent him 1 billion to buy Twitter - as "his mentor", according to a biography of Musk written by Walter Isaacson. The U.S. President, Donald Trump, has also publicly praised Ellison: "He is an extraordinary man and an incredible entrepreneur," said the Republican during a press conference one day after his inauguration. They have both met in the last year at Trump's Mar-a-Lago complex in Florida, as well as in the Oval Office of the White House. Ellison is also close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and in 2017 he made a donation of $16.6 million to the non-profit organization Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF), the largest donation the organization had received until then.

The Media Empire

Ellison started in the media world by supporting Annapurna Pictures and Skydance Productions, companies founded by his children Megan and David Ellison. Last year, Skydance Media merged with Paramount, in a deal valued at almost $28 billion, which created a gigantic conglomerate with an almost unparalleled reach. Specialized media outlets suggest that while David runs Paramount, it is the father who truly holds the reins of the company, as Ellison owns almost 50% of the media giant Paramount Skydance. That means the billionaire owns a majority stake in a television network (CBS), the streaming platform (Paramount+), multiple film studios, CBS News, and pay television channels such as Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, and Showtime. Now, Paramount is trying to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which would give the family ownership of another major film studio, another major streaming service (HBO Max), CNN and more.