Larry Ellison at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (Image by AFP via @daylife)  When software billionaire Larry Ellison purchased the 246-acre Porcupine Creek estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif. for $43 million in February, heads turned in this desert playground. Ellison already has a lush Silicon Valley spread in Woodside, Calif. and owns several properties in Malibu. Why buy a massive home with its own golf course when he doesn’t even play golf?  The most likely reason: If you’re the third richest man in the U.S. –Forbes recently estimated the Oracle Corp. founder’s net worth at $33 billion – why not? Plus Ellison, a tennis buff who reportedly plays four to five times a week, had purchased the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, held nearby in Indian Wells. The 18,430 square-foot home would be a nice place to crash in between matches.  Ellison bought the place at a relative bargain price from Edra Blixseth, the ex-wife of former Forbes 400 member and Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth. (Both Blixseths are reportedly facing creditors; neither owns Yellowstone Club anymore.) Porcupine Creek was originally listed at $75 million in February 2010; the price dropped to $55 million later that year. Ellison snapped it up for $42.9 million in February this year. The estate boasts an amphitheatre, commercial kitchens and an 18-hole golf course rated as the 13th best in California by Golf Digest magazine.  Edra Blixseth had left the compound a jumbled, overdecorated mess. She mixed curious styles and turned the place into what looked like a warehouse for all kinds of furniture, say local decorators. Porcupine Creek needed a facelift, and Ellison brought in his own decorator to manage the transformation. He has given the home and its four freestanding 2-bedroom guesthouses a makeover in advance of a fundraiser scheduled to take place there soon.  The new Porcupine Creek is set to debut on November 12 — when the 13th annual Gift of Life Celebration benefitting the Desert Cancer Foundation takes place on the poolside terrace. It will be an evening of rare wines, fine dining and a guest list limited to 300. “A special thanks to Mr. Larry Ellison for hosting this evening at his desert estate, Porcupine Creek,” reads the invite.  Ellison clearly has a fondness for the desert, having acquired the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, which is held annually at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in nearby Indian Wells. A tennis enthusiast, Ellison was reported to have paid nearly $100 million for the tournament –the second most attended American tennis championship after the U.S. Open – in December 2009.  Often called the city of presidents, the population of Rancho Mirage is just over 17,000 and continues to attract politicians and other celebrities with cultural and charity events throughout the “season,” which runs from November through May and coincides with kinder temperatures. Eisenhower Medical Center and the Betty Ford Center are here and streets are named for Gerald Ford, Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope, all past residents.  Ellison’s tony Rancho Mirage neighbors include the 200-acre Annenberg estate, once owned by philanthropists Ambassador Walter and Leonore Annenberg. Known as Sunnylands, it’s a sprawling but quietly historic place where the Reagans once golfed and the Nixons swooned at the beguiling desert landscapes. Now overseen by the Annenberg Foundation trust, Sunnylands will emerge in late February as a place for “retreats” for U.S. and world leaders. The refurbished Sunnylands will also feature a new visitors center for the arts and eco-sensitive, desert-inspired public gardens.  The locals are happy to now count one of the world’s richest men among their part-time residents. (Forbes ranked Larry Ellison the world’s fifth richest man in its World’s Billionaires list in March.) Says Rancho Mirage Mayor Dana Hobart, “We are hopeful that Mr. Ellison is imbued with the spirit of our small desert resort oasis and becomes involved as time permits. He has already shown an interest in supporting important charity events by making his home available for fundraising. His reputation for charitable involvement suggests that special fundraising events will occur with some frequency.”  Pamela Price is a freelance writer who lives in Rancho Mirage.
The third richest American is getting ready to debut his latest real estate bauble -- a massive estate in Rancho Mirage, near Palm Springs – at an upcoming charity fundraiser. The locals are all abuzz.