Larry Ellison is without a doubt one of the people who has influenced the tech industry the most.
In fact, CNBC just named him No. 10 in its new list of the 25 business people who had the most profound impact on business and finance in the past 25 years.
Ellison, who is co-founder and CEO of Oracle, has influenced the tech industry, business world, and your daily lives in numerous ways, whether you realize it or not, CNBC pointed out in its profile of him.
College degree not required
Larry Ellison certainly isn't the only billionaire college dropout to find success in Silicon Valley but he was one of the first: Before Bill Gates, before his best friend Steve Jobs, before Michael Dell.
Ellison dropped out of college not just once, but twice, before moving to Northern California at age 22, in 1966.
He stayed in school long enough to learn about computer design and, a few years later, invented a database by reading a paper about it written by an IBM scientist.
Today that database is run by all of the world's biggest companies. Just about every time you use a credit card, book an airline ticket, or get a prescription drug, Oracle has helped you do it.
Never retire
In just a couple of months, Larry Ellison will turn 70. He is the longest-running founder CEO the tech industry has ever seen. He's held the CEO role at Oracle since 1977.
Back then, a 70-year-old CEO would have been unheard of. Even today, IBM has a tradition where CEOs are asked to retire at age 60.
Ellison has never even publicly discussed retirement.
With Ellison as a role model, other CEOs are staying on longer, too, including Cisco's John Chambers and EMC's Joe Tucci.
A competitive spirit is the greatest motivator
Ask Ellison why he still comes to work every day — what drives him after all he's achieved — and he'll tell you the same answer: he loves to compete.
"I'm addicted to winning. The more you win, the more you want to win," he says.
More recently he described his motivation like this:
"What drives me is this constant testing of limits. Constant learning. ... How can you move the world just a bit, make a difference, change lives ... and how much can I help [while] discovering my own limits?"
See the rest of the story at Business Insider