In a spectacular and deeply embarrassing oversight, billionaire tech mogul Larry Ellison has been forced to rename his multi-million-pound superyacht after its original title was found to spell a vulgar antisemitic phrase when read backwards.
A Costly Oversight on the High Seas
The co-founder of the media and entertainment giant Oracle had christened his German-built, 191-foot vessel 'Izanami', after a Shinto goddess of creation and death in Japanese mythology. However, the 81-year-old, whose family has strong ties to Israel, seemingly failed to notice that reversing the letters spelled out the phrase 'I'm a nazi'.
According to reports from Futurism, Ellison became aware of the shocking implication and moved swiftly to rename the luxury yacht. The incident highlights a profound lack of due diligence for a figure of his global stature and wealth.
Online Mockery and 'Succession'-Style Comparisons
The naming blunder was swiftly seized upon by users online, who compared the situation to a plotline from hit television dramas about out-of-touch elite families. One social media user quipped that it was "such a classic billionaire blunder that it almost feels scripted by Jesse Armstrong himself," the creator of Succession.
Another directly referenced the show, which follows the dysfunctional Roy family and their media empire, while a third said it sounded like something from Arrested Development. The comparisons underscore the public perception of the incident as a tone-deaf error from the upper echelons of wealth and power.
Ellison's Pro-Israel Stance Makes Gaffe More Glaring
The irony of the situation is particularly sharp given Ellison's well-documented support for Israel. In 2017, he broke the donation record at a gala for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces with a staggering $16.6 million contribution, as reported by Variety.
Furthermore, the billionaire enjoys a personal relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In 2021, Netanyahu and his family were spotted vacationing on a Hawaiian island owned by Ellison, a trip that occurred while the PM was on trial for fraud and breach of trust. Ellison was reportedly a witness in two of the cases.
Ellison, who briefly became the world's richest person in 2025 with an estimated wealth of $393 billion, co-founded Oracle in 1977. His private life has also drawn attention, having been married six times; his current wife is 33-year-old Jolin (Keren) Zhu.
The yacht renaming saga serves as a stark reminder that vast fortunes do not inoculate against basic oversights, and in the age of social media, such errors can become global news within moments.
