Larry Ellison Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged ‘Corrupt’ Warner Bros. Deal With Trump

Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison and his son, Hollywood producer David Ellison, are facing a shareholder lawsuit alleging they struck an unlawful deal with President Donald Trump to clear the way for their blockbuster acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

A shareholder filed the lawsuit on Wednesday against the Ellisons and other members of the Paramount Skydance Corp. board, seeking to block the $110 billion transaction. The complaint, filed in Delaware’s Court of Chancery, alleges that the deal involved promises of “illegal private benefits” to President Trump in exchange for removing federal regulatory obstacles. It also seeks monetary damages.

According to the filing, the alleged arrangements include the possible removal of CNN anchors who have criticised the president and “the opportunity to improperly funnel cash” to Trump through settlements of his legal claims against the network.

“The Ellisons’ actions not only harm the reputations of the news outlets they currently own, which are hemorrhaging viewers, but are also latent liabilities waiting to be triggered by a future administration,” the lawsuit states.

Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Warner Bros. Discovery and Trump are not named as defendants in the case.

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges surrounding what would become the largest transaction in Hollywood history. It follows litigation targeting an earlier $8 billion merger between Shari Redstone’s Paramount Global and David Ellison’s Skydance Media, a deal that has already reshaped the media and entertainment landscape.

Since the takeover, CBS has ended the long-running “Late Show” hosted by Trump critic Stephen Colbert and made controversial changes to “60 Minutes”. The latest shareholder lawsuit comes in the same week that the Paramount-Warner deal faced legal challenges from 12 US states and the Writers Guild of America.

The 59-page complaint portrays the two mergers as part of a broader pattern of alleged unlawful negotiations with Trump. Since the Paramount-Skydance deal closed, the lawsuit claims, “the Ellisons proceeded to remake CBS in the president’s image, bought properties he enjoyed, and even hosted events to honour him”.

“These actions helped the Ellisons, but it appears to have harmed Paramount,” the complaint alleges.

Future Litigation Concerns

The lawsuit claims that after Trump allegedly influenced the bidding contest between Paramount and Netflix Inc. for Warner Bros. Discovery, federal regulators adopted a notably limited approach towards the merger.

The complaint also alleges that there was little or no scrutiny from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), despite a $24 billion stake in the transaction involving Saudi, Qatari and Emirati co-investors.

“Future presidential administrations are likely to subject such an ownership structure to intense and persistent scrutiny, creating significant long-term exposure for Paramount,” the lawsuit says.

The shareholder is asking the court to prevent the defendants from benefiting personally from what it describes as unlawful conduct.

The case involves shareholder derivative claims, which are filed on behalf of a company against its directors, officers or controlling shareholders. Such lawsuits typically seek to recover funds for the company.

Investor Paul Robbins, who is leading the lawsuit, is represented by Thomas Law LLC, Public Integrity Project and Freedom of the Press Foundation. The Ellisons, Paramount and other board members have not yet appeared in court.

The case is Robbins v. Ellison, Delaware Court of Chancery, No. 2026-0928, filed on July 15, 2026.

 

For any enquiries or information, contact ask@tlr.ae or call us on +971 52 644 3004. Follow The Law Reporters on WhatsApp Channels.