IN A spectacular fit of pique, the billionaire software tycoon Larry Ellison has cancelled a $115 million gift to Harvard University after the resignation of its president, with whom he was close.

Lawrence Summers, 51, announced his resignation from Harvard this year after he suggested that there might be fewer women than men in science because of “intrinsic aptitude”.

The pledge by the founder of Oracle Corp, which sells software systems to corporate clients, would have been the largest single gift in the history of the university. However, with an endowment of almost $26 billion (£14 billion), Harvard is unlikely to suffer in the long term. Harvard’s status as the world’s richest university is partly the result of Dr Summers’s work during his five-year tenure. He had previously been Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton.

“In light of Summers’s resignation, Larry Ellison has decided to reconsider his decision,” an Oracle official said. “There was never a formal agreement but it had been talked about.” He added that Mr Ellison, 61, was expected to announce a different contribution in the coming weeks. Mr Ellison is ranked by Forbes magazine as the fifteenth-richest person in the world, with a fortune of $16 billion.

According to Oracle, Dr Summers was the “brainchild” of the donation and had met Mr Ellison several times to discuss it. Under an informal agreement between the men, the $115 million would have been used to research the quality of government health-care schemes worldwide. The Ellison Institute of World Health was expected to employ 130 researchers by next summer.

At least one Harvard professor gave a different version of events yesteday, saying that Mr Ellison had halted talks about his proposed donation long before Dr Summers announced his resignation.

Mr Ellison thrives on controversy. A biography is titled The Difference between God and Larry Ellison: God Doesn’t Think He’s Larry Ellison.

The software tycoon has been married four times and enjoys such pastimes as yacht racing and flying rare fighter jets. He once imported a house from Japan.

Mr Ellison’s decision is at odds with America’s resurgence in grand-scale philanthropy. It comes only days after Warren Buffett said that he would give away most of his $44 billion fortune to charity, and after Bill Gates said that he would give up everything but an honorary position at Microsoft to focus on his philan-thropic efforts.

However, Mr Ellison will go ahead with a separate $100 million gift to his Ellison Medical Foundation. It is part of a settlement with Oracle shareholders, who had sued him for insider trading.

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