David Ellison


David Ellison is an American media executive, film producer, and former actor, currently serving as chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount Skydance since August 2025. He is the son of Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison, a centibillionaire.
He founded Skydance Media in 2006, and served as its CEO until 2025, and has produced the films, including Terminator Genisys, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Life, and Top Gun: Maverick, with the latter nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
An ally of President Donald Trump, Ellison made conservative-friendly changes to CBS News after the second Trump administration approved the Merger of [Skydance Media and Paramount Global|merger] of Skydance and Paramount Global in 2025. Later that year, Ellison launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, while giving assurances to President Trump that he would make sweeping changes to CNN if the merger went ahead.

Early life and education

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 ex-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. He has one sister, film producer Megan Ellison, who founded Annapurna Pictures.
Larry Ellison was not a day-to-day presence in David Ellison's early life.

Career

Ellison's career started in acting. His father Larry heavily financed his first major film as an actor, “Flyboys”. It was widely considered a failure. Ellison also acted in Little Fish, Strange Pond, and Hole in One before giving up his acting ambitions and going into the business side of the entertainment industry.
Larry provided substantial investment into David's media company Skydance Media. The company's films include Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Annihilation, World War Z, True Grit, Reacher (film)|Jack Reacher], Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond. Ellison was named to Varietys Dealmaker list for 2010 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 of 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 conservative-friendly changes at CBS News, hand-picking Bari Weiss as its editor-in-chief. Shortly in her tenure, Weiss controversially held a 60 Minutes story on the Trump administration's deportations to Venezuela from being aired on CBS.
Ellison sought to hinder a merger of Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Wall Street Journal reported in December 2025 that Ellison had given assurances to President Donald Trump that if Paramount were allowed to buy Warner, he would make sweeping changes to CNN, the news channel that Trump has frequently criticized. Ellison worked with three sovereign wealth funds owned by Middle-Eastern governnents, as well as Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, to finance a competing bid for Warner. Defying historical precedent of non-involvement in mergers, Donald Trump personally involved himself in the merger evaluation.
Ellison has been described as an ally of Donald Trump. Trump has boasted about his friendship with David Ellison and his father Larry Ellison.

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.

Filmography

Film

Executive producer
Producer
; Actor
YearFilmRoleNotes
2005The ChumscrubberStudent #1
2005When All Else FailsMike WilliamsShort film
2006FlyboysEddie Beagle
2009Hole in OneTyler Hayden
2009Little Fish, Strange PondRomeoDirect-to-video

; Director
YearFilmNotes
2005When All Else FailsShort film

; Writer
YearFilmNotes
2005When All Else FailsShort film

; Thanks
YearFilmNotes
2013PhantomSpecial thanks

Television

; Executive producer
; Actor
YearTitleRoleNotes
2008Blank SlateBlake FeltzerTelevision film
2010LeverageBallard