He Gives Best By Investing: Lawrence Ellison

One of his biotech start-ups, a for-profit company called Quark based in Israel, is on the verge of what Ellison says will be a major breakthrough in cancer therapy, one that allows patients to endure higher doses of chemotherapy and radiation without collateral damage to healthy cells. He vows that Quark will be commencing clinical trials shortly. Not coincidentally, he says the company will be going public sometime this year, which will enrich Ellison even further, all the while doing the world a world of good. "The for-profit model is the most efficacious in terms of medical breakthroughs," he says. When pressed, he vows to fund out of his own pocket new cancer therapies for some patients who can't afford them.

"Why do I do this?" he asks, ready with his own answer. "It's a strategy for happiness. If you're on the road for self-esteem, it's not about accumulating as much money as possible. The best way to be happy is to help someone else." And the best way to help, he thinks--echoing Adam Smith--is by making virtue profitable.