Larry Ellison drops big bucks on bug centre

Fifth-richest person in the world backs new US facility

Broken-winged butterflies and at-risk amphibians are to be the latest beneficiaries of Oracle man Larry Ellison's wealth after the mutli-billionaire invested in a new US wildlife centre.

An undisclosed sum was pledged by Ellison – who is Oracle's chief technology officer and chairman of the board – to fund the Conservation Centre for Wildlife Care, according to a report from local paper the San Jose Mercury News.

The facility will act as a wildlife refuge and rehabilitation centre for creatures such as butterflies, bugs and amphibians. It will also be a breeding centre for at-risk species.

The centre is the latest in a string of investments made by Ellison, who Forbes claims is the fifth-richest person in the world thanks to his $48bn fortune.

In 2012, Ellison bought 98 per cent of Hawaiian island Lanai for an undisclosed sum and six months later splashed some more cash on local airline Hawaiian Air.

More recently, he teamed up with Oprah Winfrey and DreamWorks co-founder David Geffen on a bid for the LA Clippers, but was beaten by former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.