Ellison's purchase of the island also included several resort hotels and homes. It's likely the income from those does a lot to cover his $500 million loss in farming. (It's curious the article says nothing about his yield from that side of the island.)
In the end, it's likely that Ellison's grand farming enterprise on a luxury resort island was always just a promotional stunt and was never intended to be sustainable or profitable. His strategy was to employ none of the resources essential to any business' success, like knowing your market or hiring staff who know even the basics of the trade (farming). Instead he hires supercomputer architect Danny Hillis to reinvent agriculture? Sure. What could go wrong?
In the end, it's likely that Ellison's grand farming enterprise on a luxury resort island was always just a promotional stunt and was never intended to be sustainable or profitable. His strategy was to employ none of the resources essential to any business' success, like knowing your market or hiring staff who know even the basics of the trade (farming). Instead he hires supercomputer architect Danny Hillis to reinvent agriculture? Sure. What could go wrong?