09/21/98 ORACLE'S BOSS CAN STILL BUTTER HIS TURNIPS

ORACLE'S BOSS CAN STILL BUTTER HIS TURNIPS

IT HASN'T BEEN A VERY lucrative year for Lawrence J. Ellison. Oracle Corp.'s (ORCL) flamboyant chairman has seen his 23% stake in the Redwood City (Calif.) software maker shrink in value to $4.3 billion, from $8.9 billion, due to an underperforming stock. A proxy statement filed on Sept. 2 reveals that Ellison's bonus shrank by 71%, to $530,000. And instead of the usually lush stock options, both Ellison and President Raymond Lane got zilch. The reason? Revenues for the year ended May 31 rose 26%, to $7.1 billion, but profits grew by just 13%--short of goals tied to compensation.
No need to shed tears. Ellison's roughly $1 million salary was intact. And he was able to offset some of the lower compensation because of business Oracle has thrown to companies he owns. The proxy said Oracle placed a $565,000 order with nCUBE, a computer maker that Ellison controls. Oracle also leased aircraft from two Ellison-owned aviation companies for a total of $472,980.
By Amy Cortese
EDITED BY IRA SAGER