Ellison pledges 67 million more Oracle shares for loans as option grants go underwater

Larry Ellison pledged 67 million more Oracle shares as collateral for personal loans, a 19% increase since 2025, valued at $9.2 billion^1,4. Recent regulatory filings show the additional pledge⁵. BigGo Finance described the disclosure as Ellison having pledged 67 million more shares than he had a year earlier².

That lifts his total to about 413 million shares worth roughly $57 billion, or 36% of his Oracle stake³. Briefs Finance put the pledged stake at about 36% as well, and tied the borrowing to a $111B bid for Warner Bros⁶. NewsBytes linked the pledged shares to the Paramount Skydance takeover⁴.

Separately, Oracle awarded Ellison and its newly minted co-CEOs, Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia, stock option packages with a combined grant-date value of $988 million in fiscal 2026^7,8. Those options are now underwater as the shares have plunged 53%⁹.

Why it matters to investors

Pledged shares are not the same as sold shares, but they change the shape of the downside. A controlling shareholder who has borrowed against 36% of his holding in a stock that has fallen 53% has lenders with their own collateral thresholds^3,9, and a margin call at a large enough size is a supply event for every other holder.

The compensation side is the confirming detail rather than a separate story. A $988 million grant that is entirely underwater within the same fiscal year is a direct measure of how far the share price has moved against the company’s own strike prices^7,8,9. FXLeaders headlined the pledge as a shadow over the stock⁵.

The use of proceeds matters too. If the borrowing is financing bids for Warner Bros and the Paramount Skydance transaction^4,6, then Oracle shareholders are indirectly exposed to the financing of unrelated media assets through their largest holder’s balance sheet.

What to watch

Watch the next filing for the pledged-share count, because the series is what matters: 67 million added in a year is a 19% increase, and another step of that size would take the pledged proportion well beyond a third^1,3.

Watch the media bids as well. A $111B offer for Warner Bros is large enough that its financing structure determines how much further collateral is required⁶. And watch whether Oracle re-prices or re-grants the co-CEOs’ options, since a board that reissues after a 53% fall is making a statement about where it thinks the shares belong^8,9.