“CBS This Morning” showed an interview with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison today. Ellison, who rarely speaks to the media, discussed his legal battle with Google, telling Charlie Rose that Larry Page “took our stuff and that was wrong.” Then he talked about Steve Jobs, whom Ellison called “his best friend for 25 years.” After being asked by Rose what was going to happen to Apple without Jobs, Ellison said:
“We already know. We conducted the experiment. It’s been done. We saw Apple with Steve Jobs (raises his hand high), we saw Apple without Steve Jobs (lowers hand), we saw Apple with Steve Jobs (hand back up), now we’re going to see Apple without Steve Jobs.”
After being asked by Rose if he was saying that “Apple is going down without Steve Jobs,” Ellison said, “Yeah, they are. I’ll say it publicly. He’s irreplaceable. They will not nearly be so successful because he’s gone.”
Ellison also called Jobs “our Edison” and “our Picasso.”
Good stuff, but too bad Rose didn’t ask him about that kooky America’s Cup.