The below is an
alleged transcript of a speech
Larry Ellison supposedly gave to a university class. According to the transcript the lecture was at
Yale University.
Look at the
classmate on your left. Look at the classmate on your
right. Now, consider this:
five years from now, 10 years from now,
even thirty years from now, odds are the person on your left is
going to be a
loser. The person on your right, meanwhile, will also
be a loser. And you,
in the middle? What can you expect? Loser.
Loserhood.
Loser Cum Laude.
In fact, as I look out before me today, I don't see a thousand hopes
for a bright tomorrow. I don't see a thousand future leaders in a
thousand industries. I see a thousand losers. You're upset. That's
understandable. After all, how can I, Lawrence "Larry" Ellison,
college dropout, have the audacity to spout such heresy to the
graduating class of one of the nation's most prestigious institutions?
I'll tell you why. Because I, Lawrence "Larry" Ellison, second richest
man on the planet, am a college dropout, and you are not. Because Bill
Gates, richest man on the planet - for now anyway - is a college dropout,
and you are not. Because Paul Allen, the third richest man on the
planet, dropped out of college, and you did not. And for good measure,
because Michael Dell, No. 9 on the list and moving up fast, is a
college dropout, and you, yet again, are not.
Hmm ... you're very upset. That's understandable. So let me stroke
your egos for a moment by pointing out, quite sincerely, that your
diplomas were not attained in vain. Most of you, I imagine, have spent
four to five years here, and in many ways what you've learned and
endured will serve you well in the years ahead. You've established good work habits. You've
established a network of people that will help you down the road. And
you've established what will be lifelong relationships with the word
"therapy". All that of is good. For in truth, you will need that
network. You will need those strong work habits. You will need that
therapy. You will need them because you didn't drop out, and so you
will never be among the richest people in the world.
Oh sure, you may, perhaps, work your way up to #10 or #11, like Steve
Ballmer. But then, I don't have to tell you who he really works for,
do I? And for the record, he dropped out of grad school. Bit of a late
bloomer. Finally, I realize that many of you, and hopefully by now
most of you, are wondering, "Is there anything I can do? Is there any
hope for me at all?" Actually, no. It's too late. You've absorbed too
much, think you know too much. You're not 19 anymore. You have a
built-in cap, and I'm not referring to the mortarboards on your heads.
Hmm ... you're really very upset. That's understandable. So perhaps
this would be a good time to bring up the silver lining. Not for you,
Class of '00. You are a write-off, so I'll let you slink off to your
pathetic $200,000-a-year jobs, where your checks will be signed by
former classmates who dropped out two years ago. Instead, I want to
give hope to any underclassmen here today. I say to you, and I can't
stress this enough: leave. Pack your things and your ideas and don't
come back. Drop out. Start up. For I can tell you that a cap and gown
will keep you down just as surely as these security guards dragging me
off this stage are keeping me dow..."
(At this point The Oracle CEO was ushered off stage.)
A debunking of the above alleged speech appears at http://www.snopes.com/quotes/ellison.htm.