Here's Why Larry Ellison Was One of Silicon Valley's Best Interviews (Video)

Larry Ellison is a big deal because, until today, he ran one of the world’s most important technology companies.

But he’s also a big deal because he carries himself like a big deal, which makes for very entertaining interviews: There’s no one around to tell Larry Ellison what he can and can’t say, so he says what he wants. When Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark in “Iron Man,” he’s channeling a lot of Larry Ellison.

Here’s exhibit A: An hour-long interview with Kara Swisher from the 2012 edition of the D: All Things Digital conference. Watch Ellison take on everyone from rival Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, former HP CEO Leo Apotheker and current HP CEO Meg Whitman; talk about his relationship with Steve Jobs; and discuss his own public persona: “I really should never talk about myself.”

Lucky for us that he did.

Here’s the short version:

And here’s the full interview:

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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