The Associated Press recently released a list of the highest paid CEOs in the United States. Topping the list was the founder and CEO of Oracle Corp., Larry Ellison. In 2008 alone, Ellison will earn $84.6 million.

The 64 year old CEO was born to a 19 year old single mother and raised by her aunt and uncle. In fact, it would be almost half a century before he met his real mother. By then, he had already founded Oracle Corp.

The company was founded in 1977 with only a $2,000 investment from Ellison. Originally Software Development Laboratories and then Relational Software Inc., the company’s current name comes from Oracle database, the company’s flagship product. Having survived a 1990 marketing mistake which nearly resulted in the company’s bankruptcy, and having toppled two competitors—Sybase and Informix, Oracle is now the third largest software company in the world.

So how does Ellison enjoy his earnings? Various boats, cars, a private jet and a $200 million home tell us that Larry Ellison enjoys his money, despite claims that he’s only able to actually spend a little over 10% of his net worth. He’s even attempted to buy a pair of professional sports teams and is looking into a third.

Directly following Ellison on the list of the nation’s highest paid CEOs are Merrill Lynch & Co.’s John Thain ($83.1 million), CBS Corp.’s Leslie Moonves ($67.6 million) and Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.’s Richard Adkerson ($65.3 million).