In Electric Larryland, the stones have secrets

Oracle boss Ellison auditioned bathroom boulders

By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in Bootnotes, 30th September 2004 12:30 GMT

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According to this month's Vanity Fair, Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison auditioned several enormous boulders for his bathroom before choosing one he could live with. Or more precisely, bathe with.

Ellison eventually settled on a 30-ton "shower rock", after pretending to shower in front of several stony candidates for his master bathroom in Woodside, Ca. It won't be a stone alone, however: Ellison reportedly has 5,000 tons of Yuba River boulders on his 23-acre Woodside spread, which features a recreation of the Katsura Rikyu gardens in Kyoto. Managed by expert Japanese landscape gardeners, it's a serene and tranquil paradise, report visitors, marred only by the sound of Ellison's own MiG fighters screaming overhead.

In terms of sheer size, however, Bill Gates' house is larger - the Microsoft founder's 1.5 acre house is surrounded by land snapped up from adjacent properties, which Gates bought to ensure his privacy. Thanks to the incomparable GMSV for the tip. ®