BMW Oracle wins America`s Cup
Billionaire software mogul Larry Ellison won the America’s Cup on Sunday by following the same aggressive rules he has perfected in business: Push the envelope on technology. Don’t be afraid to spend money. And make the competition personal.
The pugnacious Oracle CEO and the crew of his 114-foot, high-tech trimaran became the first U.S.-sponsored team in 18 years to win the world’s oldest sailing trophy, after trouncing the Swiss Team Alinghi in successive races — the first was Friday — making a third event unnecessary in the best-of-three competition off the coast of Spain.
“It’s an absolutely awesome feeling. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this team,” Ellison, who was on board for the race, told a TV crew on the scene moments after the BMW Oracle boat, dubbed USA-17, finished the second race 5 minutes and 26 seconds ahead of its rival.
But the quick victory came after a years-long quest, into which Ellison, the world’s fourth-richest man, poured hundreds of millions of dollars from a personal fortune estimated at $27 billion. In addition, he waged an extended legal battle against his bitter rival, billionaire Swiss yachtsman Ernesto Bertarelli, to make sure the race was staged on what Ellison considered fair terms.
During those years, Ellison also was spending billions of shareholder dollars to gobble up smaller companies and major competitors, including PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems and, most recently, Sun
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