Oracle CEO Larry Ellison holds court amid America's Cup win
SAN FRANCISCO---In what was immediately dubbed by the Twittersphere as one of the greatest comebacks in modern sporting history, Oracle's Team USA won the 34th America's Cup on Wednesday afternoon.
The Americans struck back from being down 8-1 against Emirates Team New Zealand to win eight races in a row in order to retain the preeminent crown in sailing.
The timing also couldn't be better given that the software giant's annual expo OpenWorld is already on its penultimate day in San Francisco.
Shortly after clinching the Cup once again, Oracle CEO and (understatedly) sailing aficionado Larry Ellison held court at a press conference at the America's Cup Village at Pier 27 following the awards ceremony.
Ellison's absence at arguably some of his own company's most important events has drawn media attention and criticism over the last week -- notably Oracle's first quarter conference call last week and his traditional keynote on Tuesday.
The Oracle chief did make his annual opening address and product announcement on Sunday, but Ellison's delivery and manner was noticeably rushed compared to previous occasions.
That wasn't the case today -- albeit the conversation firmly hovered around Ellison's sailing venture rather than his international technology business.
In response to how he would describe his legacy -- at least as far as professional sailing is concerned -- Ellison quipped, "Not over yet."
Ellison batted questions about the cutting edge (but also controversial) catamaran designs to how much Oracle spent to win the Cup.
Earlier in the press conference, Team New Zealand's leadership lamented that they spent roughly $100 million to lose the Cup.
When asked how much Oracle spent to win the America's Cup, Ellison responded, "I don't anyone thinks about the money. That's not what the guys on Team New Zealand are thinking about right now. They're champion sailors."
One topic that Ellison stayed tight-lipped about was the location of the next America's Cup -- a decision that is traditionally made by the winning team of the regatta.
"San Francisco is a great place. We'd love to come back to San Francisco," Ellison commented. "But we're going to sit down and talk with the officials in San Francisco and see if that's a possibility to come back."
It has been rumored that Ellison and company might move the next series to Hawaii, where Ellison has famously bought a collective of island properties and a local airline to boot.
In response to how he would describe his legacy -- at least as far as professional sailing is concerned -- Ellison quipped, "Not over yet."