Son of Larry Ellison, in his early 40s, who runs Skydance Media, a production company he founded with his father's help. In 2025 he took control of Paramount in an $8.4bn deal mainly financed by his father; RedBird put up $2bn. In December 2025 Paramount offered $108bn in cash for the whole of Warner Bros Discovery, after Netflix announced a rival $83bn deal for Warner's studio and streaming services. Mr Ellison, a devotee of the silver screen who produced "Top Gun: Maverick", said a combined Warner-Paramount would release more than 30 movies a year in cinemas. The biggest financial backers of the bid are Gulf sovereign-wealth funds: the Ellisons would stump up $12bn while Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia would together contribute $24bn. Combined, Paramount and Warner would have the largest share of the national television-ad market, around 35%, compared with Disney's 27%.
In February 2026 Paramount Skydance grasped Warner Bros Discovery from the jaws of Netflix after months of wrangling. If regulators approve the deal and Warner shareholders vote in favour, Mr Ellison will be enthroned as the king of Hollywood.
Mr Ellison has said he wants to blend "the creative heart of Hollywood with the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley". He appointed Makan Delrahim, an antitrust enforcer during Donald Trump's first term, as Paramount's chief legal officer. He also appointed a conservative-leaning "ombudsman" to oversee CBS News's coverage. Yet he donated nearly $1m to Joe Biden's 2024 presidential campaign and spent $1.5bn renewing "South Park". The Ellison family has been named by Mr Trump as part of the group that will run the promised American version of TikTok, giving them a hand in both professional and social media.
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