Tag archives: Larry Ellison

Local Home Sold
By Richard Mineards   |   August 20, 2024

Ellen DeGeneres and actress wife Portia de Rossi have sold their sprawling Carpinteria spread for a hefty $96 million. The dynamic duo purchased the 20-acre property in 2022 for $70 million, at the time one of the largest real estate deals in Santa Barbara County. Property records obtained by the Wall Street Journal show they […]

Sensei Porcupine Creek: A Real Life Mirage in Rancho Mirage
By Leslie Westbrook   |   April 16, 2024

After a three-day wellness program visit to Sensei Porcupine Creek in Rancho Mirage, California, I can honestly say that the bar for health retreats was set incredibly high. I’ve visited many stellar “health retreats/spas” over the years (Rancho La Puerta is a favorite that comes to mind), and this one is right up there in […]

Next Up… Hot Dog Eating Contest
By Richard Mineards   |   April 16, 2024

There are now more billionaires than ever, 2,781 in all, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record set in 2021, according to the new 38th annual Forbes magazine Rich List. They’re also richer than ever, with $14.2 trillion in aggregate, up $2 trillion from 2023 and $1.1 trillion more than the […]

Reading Up on Irish Roots
By Richard Mineards   |   August 30, 2022

Montecito globetrotting accountant Frank McGinity has just published his latest 246-page work chronicling nearly 40 years of the California branch of the American Irish Historical Society from its creation in 1983 through the first quarter of the 21st century. Riven Rock-based founder Frank says his work serves not only as a historical document of the […]

A Hand for Hannu
By Richard Mineards   |   July 12, 2022

How fitting that Hannu Lintu, a graduate of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, should be conducting the Finnish composer’s The Oceanides with the Academy Festival Orchestra at the Granada, part of the Music Academy’s 75th anniversary summer festival celebrations. Lintu, 54, chief conductor of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, was in extraordinary form for […]

A Royal Farewell
By Richard Mineards   |   April 29, 2021

As expected, I was much in demand over the weekend for the somber and muted funeral for Prince Philip at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, built in the 14th century by King Edward III. Most of it was spent on Fox News where I sat for three hours at the CBTV studio downtown with New York […]

Aloha from Hawaii
By Richard Mineards   |   December 31, 2020

Oracle tycoon Larry Ellison, who has owned a number of homes in Santa Barbara for many years, is quitting California to live in Hawaii. Ellison, 76, the world’s 11th richest man, owns 98 percent of Lanai, the state’s sixth largest island at 140 square miles. He bought it in 2012 and employs the majority of […]