Ellison had become a billionaire and a Silicon Valley legend, famous for his Ferraris and his bold directives.

FORBES: Larry Ellison

My business partner and co-author Steve Blank, a workaholic Silicon Valley legend, imposed this discipline I recommend: "date night" with his wife Alison.

CNN: Switching off from the 24-7 work ethic

The namesake of Moore's Law, which posits that computing power will double every 18 months (later updated to 2 years), Gordon Moore is a Silicon Valley legend.

FORBES: Gordon Moore

It seemed that another Silicon Valley legend had flamed out.

FORBES: Larry Ellison

But Mr Clark, a legend in Silicon Valley for his ability to spot trends in emerging technology, maintains that research using stem cells is vital to the future of medicine.

BBC: Billionaire suspends stem cell donation