Billionaire Twitter takeover backer was on coup planning call with Lindsey Graham and Sean Hannity: report
Billionaire Larry Ellison participated in a phone call with some of Donald Trump's biggest supporters discussing efforts to keep the former reality TV star in office despite the fact he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, according to a new report.
"Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder and chairman of the software company Oracle and the biggest backer of Elon Musk’s attempted Twitter takeover, participated in a call shortly after the 2020 election that focused on strategies for contesting the legitimacy of the vote, according to court documents and a participant," The Washington Postreported Friday. "Ellison’s participation illustrates a previously unknown dimension in the multifaceted campaign to challenge Trump’s loss, an effort still coming into focus more than 18 months later."
The newspaper reported that also on the call were Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC), Fox News personality Sean Hannity, Trump attorney Jay Sekulow and far-right attorney James Bopp, Jr.
"Ellison is the 11th-richest person in the world, with a net worth of about $85 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He became a major political power broker during the Trump administration, hosting the president in 2020 for a fundraiser at his estate in California’s Coachella Valley and contributing millions to Republican candidates and committees, including to Graham, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission," the newspaper reported.
The existence of the call was revealed by a message sent by Graham.
"Ellison’s participation in the call was confirmed by a participant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private matters. This person said Ellison, as a technology executive, may have been enlisted to assess claims about voting machines made by Sidney Powell, a onetime member of Trump’s legal team. And the person said the GOP megadonor was probably looped in by Graham, as part of a discussion about whether the Trump campaign had assembled an effective legal team," the newspaper reported.
The newspaper noted Oracle donated $499,000 to the Federalist Society in 2019.
"Ellison personally has invested significantly in Republican candidates and causes," the newspaper reported. "This month, Ellison pledged $1 billion to support Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That makes him the largest single backer of the bid, which has been cheered by Trump allies because of comments Musk and his associates have made about loosening rules on content moderation and possibly letting the former president back on the platform."
Ellison is on the board of directors of Musk's Tesla.
"He owns nearly all of the Hawaiian island of Lanai," The Post noted.
Read the full report.
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