Oracle Co-Founder Larry Ellison Becomes World’s Richest Person With $393 Bn Net Worth, Overtakes Elon Musk

Larry Ellison, co-founder and chairman of Oracle Corporation, briefly surpassed Elon Musk to become the world's richest individual on Wednesday morning. Ellison's net worth soared to an estimated $393 billion (£290 billion), overtaking Musk's $385 billion (£284 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Larry Ellison Tops Elon Musk, Becomes World's Richest Person

The dramatic rise in Ellison's wealth was fueled by a sharp rally in Oracle's stock price, which surged more than 40% following an exceptionally strong earnings forecast and growing investor confidence in the company's cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) ventures.

Although Musk reclaimed the top spot by the end of the trading day as some of Oracle's gains retraced, the moment was a milestone for Ellison, who has long been a dominant figure in the tech industry but had never before reached the pinnacle of the global wealth ladder.

Who is Larry Ellison? Co-founder of Oracle Corporation

Larry Ellison is an American billionaire entrepreneur, best known as the co-founder of Oracle Corporation, one of the world's largest software and cloud computing companies. Born in 1944 in New York City and raised in Chicago, Ellison founded Oracle in 1977 and led the company as CEO until 2014.

Under his leadership, Oracle became a global leader in enterprise database software, later expanding into cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence. Known for his bold business strategies and flamboyant lifestyle, Ellison is also a major investor in real estate, aviation, and media. He currently serves as Oracle's Chairman and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and remains one of the most influential figures in the tech industry.

Despite stepping down as Oracle's CEO in 2014, Larry Ellison, 81, remains deeply involved in the company's direction as Chairman and Chief Technology Officer. His fortune is heavily tied to Oracle, of which he owns approximately 42%, making him the largest individual shareholder.

Ellison, known for his flamboyant lifestyle including owning Hawaiian islands, luxury yachts, and private jets has also remained active in both politics and media. He has well-documented ties to former President Donald Trump and recently joined tech titans Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Masayoshi Son (SoftBank) to back Stargate, a new initiative aimed at bolstering American AI infrastructure.

Oracle Stock Price in Latest Trading Session; Best Single-Day Performance Since 1992

Oracle stock surged 35.95% on Wednesday, marking its best single-day performance since 1992 and hitting an all-time high, driven by explosive cloud demand. The rally added $244 billion to its market capitalisation, pushing its total valuation to $922 billion. The surge followed Oracle's announcement of $455 billion in remaining performance obligations, a 359% year-over-year increase.

Oracle Again Emerging As Key Tech Player

Oracle's ascent has been largely driven by its aggressive pivot into cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence. The company reported a projected 77% increase in cloud revenue this year, targeting $18 billion in earnings from this division alone. Analysts cite the explosion of AI-powered applications and services as the key catalyst behind Oracle's meteoric growth.

In the most recent quarter, Oracle secured four multibillion-dollar contracts, with more expected in the coming months. CEO Safra Catz emphasized during Tuesday's earnings call that the company is experiencing unprecedented demand for its data center infrastructure, particularly from AI developers and enterprise clients racing to build and deploy generative AI models.

Moreover, Oracle re-emerged as a key player in the ongoing geopolitical tech battle, surfacing as a potential buyer for TikTok as U.S. lawmakers push for ByteDance to divest the popular video platform over national security concerns.