Billionaire pressured to alter identify of his boat because it spells “I’m a Nazi” backwards
Blundering billionaire Larry Ellison – once the world’s most richest man – likes to splash the cash on fancy yachts, but recently spotted a huge error in the name of a German-built boat
Ellison made the blunder on a recent purchase (Image: Getty Images)
The world’s third richest person was forced to change the name of his superyacht after he realised it spelt “I’m a Nazi” backwards.
Larry Ellison, 81, named the 191-foot German-built vessel the Izanami after a mythical Japanese deity. But billionaire Ellison, who was raised in a Jewish family, scrambled to change it when the horror name was pointed out.
The blunder came to light in a Vulture profile of his son David, which highlighted how the elder Ellison has owned a fleet of superyachts, having upgraded to a 452-foot yacht before downsizing to one that is a mere 288 feet long.
Ellison, the co-founder of the media and entertainment conglomerate Oracle whose estimated net worth is now $245.3 billion, previously said he doesn’t intend to just leave his money for his kids to spend without him.
Social media users mocked the mishap and drew comparisons with hit tv show Succession, which sees a billionaire mogul patriarch who owns an enormous global media conglomerate and has several children champing at the bit to inherit his riches.
One was quipped: “This is straight out of Succession.” Another said: “That is such a classic billionaire blunder that it almost feels scripted by Jesse Armstrong himself. It is the perfect intersection of high-end pretension and a total lack of basic proofreading.”
A third said it sounded “like something out of Arrested Development”, another hit show about a dysfunctional wealthy family.
Ellison briefly became the world’s richest person after his wealth jumped by $101 billion to $393 billion in September.
He is also known for his turbulent private life and has been married six times. His current bride Jolin Zhu – also known as Keren Zhu – is 33 and has been involved in Ellison’s business ventures, including college football investments.
His first wife described Ellison as “an ardent Zionist” and he has a relationship with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who was seen on holiday with his family in 2021 on an island in Hawaii owned by Ellison, according to The Times of Israel.
At the time, Netanyahu was on trial for fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases, as well as bribery in one of them, while Ellison was a witness in two of them.
Ellison has repeatedly shown his support for Israel, notably at a gala for Friends of Israel Defense Forces in 2017, when he broke the donation record with a whopping $16.6million contribution.
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