David Ellison

Ellison was born on January 9, 1983, in Santa Clara County, California. He is the son of billionaire Oracle Corporation co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison and his third wife, Barbara Boothe Ellison. His father is of Italian and Jewish heritage. Ellison grew up in Woodside, California, with his mother, who nurtured his love for film. He attended Pepperdine University and the University of Southern California, but dropped out of its film school in 2005 to fund a movie with his family's money, Flyboys, a box-office bomb. Ellison was influenced by businessman Steve Jobs, a friend of his father, and pitched Jobs his idea for Skydance Media before revising it under Jobs' advice. == Career ==

Ellison's career started in acting. His father Larry heavily financed his first major film as an actor, Flyboys. and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2011. Ellison was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for Top Gun: Maverick. Ellison's company Skydance Media expanded in 2013 with the launch of its television division. He has executive-produced shows such as Altered Carbon and Grace and Frankie. In 2014, Ellison launched a new line of men's clothing called the "LANAI Collection." In 2017, Ellison helped launch Skydance Animation in partnership with Spain's Ilion Animation Studios. In 2019, Ellison hired the former Pixar CCO John Lasseter to run Skydance Animation. Paramount Skydance Corporation In January 2024, it was reported that Ellison was interested in merging Skydance Media with Paramount Global and buying the latter's parent company National Amusements from Shari Redstone. The merger received approval from the FCC under the second Donald Trump administration in July 2025. The merger was completed by August 7, 2025, and Paramount Skydance Corporation was formed. Ellison serves as chairman and CEO of the merged company. Following the merger, Ellison made changes at CBS News which Le Monde called "conservative-friendly". Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery In September 2025, shortly after the formation of Paramount Skydance, it was reported that Ellison had started preparing a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Following an auction process, WBD entered into a merger agreement with Netflix. Ellison sought to hinder the merger of Netflix and WBD by launching a hostile takeover bid. The Wall Street Journal reported in December 2025 that Ellison had given assurances to President Donald Trump that if Paramount were to buy WBD, he would make major changes to CNN, a media organisation that Trump has frequently criticized. Ellison worked with three sovereign wealth funds owned by Middle-Eastern governments, as well as Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, to finance his competing bid for WBD. In February 2026, after Ellison raised his bid for the company, WBD concluded that it was a superior proposal to the Netflix deal. Netflix declined to raise its bid for the company and Paramount and WBD signed a definitive merger agreement shortly after. Ellison will continue his tenure as chairman and CEO of the combined company. In April 2026, Ellison feted Donald Trump and senior Trump administration officials at an event titled, “honoring the Trump White House,” in Washington D.C., alongside top executives and journalists from CBS News. Guests at the event included Trump administration officials who were overseeing the Paramount merger with Warner Bros. ==Personal life==

He married Sandra Lynn Modic, an actress and singer, on October 1, 2011, in Palm Springs, California. They have two children. Ellison is a licensed pilot with instrument ratings for helicopter aviation, aerobatics, commercial aviation, fixed-wing aircraft, and multi-engine aircraft. In 2003, aged 20, he was selected to perform as part of Sean D. Tucker's "Stars of Tomorrow" aerobatic team at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Ellison and his father are close associates of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ellison is a member of the Producers Guild of America and Television Academy. Ellison has been described as an ally of Donald Trump. == Criticisms ==

Ellison has faced many criticisms in his career, with the most notable one being the appointment of Bari Weiss as CBS editor-in-chief. This came after Paramount Skydance bought her news site that she founded titled "The Free Press". The appointment was seen as Ellison's bet that Weiss, a successful entrepreneur and outsider with billionaire connections, can modernize and turn around the powerful but third-placed broadcast news network. . To critics, the appointment was also seen as an effort to steer CBS in a direction more aligned with the administration of President Donald Trump. This in turn has stirred controversy from the political left and progressive fractions of the country, especially with some people questioning the qualifications of Bari Weiss herself. Ellison was also criticized by Warner Bros. Discovery for overpaying for the UFC rights after the company rejected The Ellison backed-bid for the company in December of 2025. In a letter filled with the SEC, they state that "PSKY has signed above-market, multi-year programming and sports licensing deals, both domestically and internationally. Despite limited visibility into their long-term performance, PSKY will begin to bear significant fixed financial costs related to these agreements going forward. This, together with potentially higher costs associated with NFL rights given the league’s right to renegotiate early, could create further headwinds to PSKY’s financial profile.”. While UFC isn't mentioned by name, it’s obvious that it was part of the risk that Warner Bros. was referencing to after Paramount agreed to pay $7.7 billion for the broadcast fights, which includes all pay-per-view events airing at no additional cost on the Paramount+ streaming service. Ellison has faced criticism for also dodging senate hearings on testifying for the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount Skydance deal. In a letter sent on Monday to the Paramount mogul, U.S. Senator Cory Booker had sharpened his words toward the executive in an effort to get Ellison to testify. “As the leader of the company seeking to execute one of the largest media mergers in American history, your continued unwillingness to engage with Congressional oversight is itself a matter of public concern,” the Senator had wrote. ==Filmography==

Film Executive producer • Flyboys (2006) • True Grit (2010) • Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) • The Guilt Trip (2012) • Jack Reacher (2012) • G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) • Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) • World War Z (2013) • Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) • Star Trek Beyond (2016) • Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016) • Baywatch (2017) • Annihilation (2018) • Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) • Without Remorse (2021) • Snake Eyes (2021) • Blush (2021) • Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) • Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) • Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025) Producer • Terminator Genisys (2015) • Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) • Life (2017) • Geostorm (2017) • Gemini Man (2019) • Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) • 6 Underground (2019) • The Old Guard (2020) • The Tomorrow War (2021) • The Adam Project (2022) • Top Gun: Maverick (2022) • Luck (2022) • The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) • Air (2023) • Ghosted (2023) • Kelce (2023) • Heart of Stone (2023) • Spy Kids: Armageddon (2023) • Spellbound (2024) • The Gorge (2025) • The Old Guard 2 (2025) • Fountain of Youth (2025) • The Family Plan 2 (2025) • Swapped (2026) • Mayday (2026) • Matchbox: The Movie (2026) • Way of the Warrior Kid (2026) • Ray Gunn (2026) • Untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project (TBA) • Untitled Skydance Animation/Don Hall project (TBA) ; Actor ; Director ; Writer ; Thanks Television ; Executive producer • Manhattan (2014−15) • Ten Days in the Valley (2017) • Grace and Frankie (2015−18) • Dietland (2018) • Condor (2018–2020) • Altered Carbon (2018−19) • Jack Ryan (2018−2023) • Foundation (2021–present) • Reacher (2022–present) • Good Rivals (2022) • The Checkup with Dr. David Agus (2022) • The Big Door Prize (2023) • FUBAR (2023) • WondLa (2024) • One Night in Idaho: The College Murders (2025) • Terminator Zero (2024) • Neuromancer (TBA) • Ride or Die (TBA) ; Actor ==References==