Larry Ellison's $200 Million 16th-Century Japanese Palace in Silicon Valley

While Oracle’s name has dominated headlines for all the wrong reasons this past week — the tech giant confirmed it is cutting thousands of jobs globally, with analysts estimating the layoffs could affect between 20,000 and 30,000 employees — its co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison has been living an altogether different reality.

With a net worth estimated at approximately $240 billion by Bloomberg, Ellison has spent decades building not just one of the world’s most powerful software companies but also one of its most extraordinary private real estate portfolios.

At the center of it all is a 23-acre estate in the rolling hills of Woodside, California, that he spent over $200 million constructing from the ground up, which looks — deliberately and meticulously — like it belongs in 16th-century Japan.

Building a Japanese Imperial Palace in the Hills of Silicon Valley

Ellison began assembling the Woodside property in the 1990s, and what followed was one of the most extraordinary private construction projects in American real estate history. As reported by Robb Report and documented by the Almanac News, which covered the project extensively during construction, Ellison’s vision was to recreate a 16th-century Japanese imperial country estate — not as a pastiche, but as a genuine architectural and cultural exercise.

The lead designer was Paul Discoe, an ordained Zen priest and specialist in traditional Japanese construction, who made numerous trips to Japan to research techniques that had not been used in centuries. The results are extraordinary. The compound features an 8,000-square-foot main house alongside ten additional structures – including a guest house, multiple cottages, a tea house, and a bath house – all set around a three-acre man-made lake with a boat dock.

As reported by the Almanac News, 2,000 tons of Chinese granite were imported and hand-cut to exact templates before being shipped to Woodside for reassembly. The main house features sliding shoji doors, tatami mats, hand-carved woodwork, and antique Japanese screens and stone lanterns sourced specifically for the property. Traditional cedar shingles and mud-plastered walls were constructed using authentic 16th-century building techniques, while modern infrastructure – plumbing, electrical, earthquake-proofing – was hidden entirely from view. The San Andreas fault runs less than half a mile from the site.

The gardens were crafted by renowned landscape architects and include koi ponds, pagodas, stone pathways, and curated plantings designed to evoke the grounds of a Kyoto temple. A barn on the property has been converted into a gym. When asked by CNBC in 2012 why he bought more homes than he could possibly live in, Ellison pointed to his love of art and his ambition to convert several properties into private museums.

A Glimpse at Ellison’s $1.75 Billion Real Estate Empire

The Woodside estate is the jewel of what Robb Report describes as a property portfolio valued at roughly $1.75 billion. Here is a brief look at its key holdings:

Lanai, Hawaii – The most audacious purchase of his career. In 2012, Ellison paid a reported $300 million to acquire 98 per cent of the Hawaiian island of Lanai, as reported by Business Insider. The island spans 90,000 acres and is home to two Four Seasons resorts, a private airport, and pristine beaches. He subsequently spent an estimated $450 million remodelling the Four Seasons Resort Lanai, which reopened in 2016, and remodelled the island’s second resort in 2020. The island also houses the Sensei Lanai wellness retreat, which charges around $3,000 per night, hydroponic farms, and a private airline – Lanai Air – to ferry guests from Honolulu. All in all, the tech billionaire spent a total of $750 million on this property.

London West End office, St James’s Square – Ellison’s most recent headline-grabbing acquisition was a $202 million purchase of a stately West End office building at 11-12 St James’s Square in London – bought from Hong Kong-listed investor Chinese Estates. The property was entirely vacant at the time of purchase and is thought to have been acquired for one of his businesses.

Carbon Beach, California – Ellison is the single largest individual landowner on Carbon Beach, nicknamed Billionaire’s Beach, owning at least ten oceanfront properties collectively valued at more than $180 million, per Robb Report. One standout acquisition was a 7,700-square-foot estate with a pool and tennis court purchased in 2017 for $48 million.

Broadway Street, San Francisco – Long before he became Malibu’s beachfront baron, Ellison planted roots in San Francisco’s elite Pacific Heights neighbourhood. In 1988, he purchased a 10,742-square-foot modernist mansion on Broadway Street – designed by noted Bay Area architect William Wurster – for a reported $3.9 million. The neighbourhood, known as “Billionaire’s Row,” is also home to other tech titans including Jony Ive and the Yelp CEO.

Newport, Rhode Island – In 2010, Ellison purchased Beechwood Mansion – a gilded era property, once owned by the historical Astor family – for $10.5 million, according to Business Insider. He has since spent over $100 million renovating it as a private museum for his 19th-century art collection, and owns several surrounding properties on Bellevue Avenue, placing him between the iconic Rosecliff and Marble House estates.

Manalapan, Florida – In 2022, Ellison purchased a property in Manalapan, Florida for a record-setting $173 million – the largest residential real estate transaction in Florida at the time. The 16-acre compound sits between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. He then went further: in August 2024, Ellison dropped a staggering $277 million on the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Manalapan – a 309-room resort with a 42,000-square-foot spa, three tennis courts, and two pools. He spent a total of $450 million on this property.

Rancho Mirage, California – The tech billionaire, who doesn’t golf – bought this 246-acre private golf estate in Rancho Mirage for $42.9 million in 2011. The compound includes a 16-bedroom main house and several guest houses. He has since converted the property into Sensei Porcupine Creek, an ultra-exclusive wellness resort that accommodates no more than 68 guests at any time.

Kyoto, Japan – Ellison owns a historic garden villa on the grounds of Nanzen-ji, a revered Zen Buddhist temple. Per Robb Report, the property is reportedly listed at $86 million and Ellison told CNBC in 2012 that the property will eventually become a Japanese art museum.

North Palm Beach, Florida – Ellison dropped $80 million on an oceanfront property in North Palm Beach in 2021, and subsequently listed it for $145 million the following year. It has yet to sell.

Lake Tahoe, Nevada – His holdings in Incline Village are estimated at approximately $102 million in total, per Business Insider, and include a private beach, two private piers, a tennis court, and a pool and spa.

For a man who once told CNBC that many of his homes were destined to become museums, the Woodside estate remains his most personal statement – a monument to patience, obsession, and the conviction that the most meaningful things take a very long time to build.