Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison has a reputation for going after those that cross him — specifically former protégés that leave to start their own technology companies that then compete with Oracle.
Case in point would be Ellison and company's hostile $10.3 billion takeover of PeopleSoft Inc., whose CEO, Craig Conway, once worked for Ellison. While Ellison took lots of verbal shots at Conway during the protracted battle, which ended with Oracle acquiring the company last January, he apparently has worked through any hard feelings toward John Ashcroft, whose Justice Department challenged the merger, sparking a seven-month antitrust trial.
The Chicago Tribune reports the former attorney general-turned-lobbyist counts Oracle and Ellison as among his most lucrative clients. Less than three after registering as a lobbyist, Ashcroft had pocketed at least $269,000, most of it $220,000, from Oracle, which drew Justice Department approval of another multi-billion dollar acquisition, that of rival Siebel Systems Inc., less than a month after hiring Ashcroft in October. — Kate Gibson
Go to story from The Chicago Tribune
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