Larry Ellison Now Owns an Island

State officials from Hawaii say Oracle(ORCL) founder and CEO Larry Ellison has signed an agreement to scoop up 98 percent of Lanai for an undisclosed price. The seller, fellow billionaire David Murdock, is parting with two resort hotels, two championship golf courses, and more than 88,000 acres of land, according to documents filed with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.

Ellison, whose wealth is tagged at $36.4 billion by Bloomberg News, has had his eyes on Hawaii's sixth-largest island for some time. Oracle did not respond to a request for comment, but the Aloha State's rumor mill has been running on overdrive with speculation that either Ellison or Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates might try to grab the tropical gem, where Ellison has a home.

The island boasts unspoiled charm with 30 miles of paved roads, 400 miles of unpaved roads and no traffic lights. While the selling price was not revealed, The Maui News previously reported that the asking price was between $500 million and $600 million.

Earthquake Jars Japan

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 has hit off the shores of Japan’s southern Okinawa Island.

Officials said the quake Tuesday about 135 miles away from the island was not expected to cause a tsunami. There were no immediate reports of damage, injuries or tsunami warnings.

Northeastern Japan was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11 that left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing. Japan, which lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” is one of the world’s most seismically active countries.

Japan, located at the junction of four tectonic plates, experiences 20 percent of the strongest quakes recorded on Earth each year.