Larry Ellison Briefly Tops Elon Musk as World’s Richest Person
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison briefly overtook Elon Musk as the world’s richest individual on Wednesday after a dramatic surge in Oracle’s stock price pushed his net worth to $393 billion (£290 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Ellison’s wealth jump was driven by a more than 40% spike in Oracle’s shares, fueled by the company’s strong forecast for its cloud infrastructure business and soaring demand for artificial intelligence (AI) services. This surge temporarily placed Ellison ahead of Musk, whose fortune dropped to $385 billion (£284 billion) as Tesla’s shares struggled this year.
By the close of trading, Oracle’s stock had given up some of its gains, allowing Musk to reclaim the top spot. Musk had held the title of the world’s richest person for nearly a year before this brief shift.
Oracle’s AI Boom
The boost to Ellison’s fortune came as Oracle reported four multibillion-dollar contracts in the past quarter, highlighting growing demand for its data centers among AI companies. Chief executive Safra Catz revealed that the firm expects revenue from its cloud business to climb 77% to $18 billion this year, with more growth projected in the years ahead.
Oracle’s rise comes amid increasing competition in the AI infrastructure space, with companies racing to secure capacity for large-scale data processing.
Musk’s Challenges
Meanwhile, Musk faces headwinds as Tesla’s share price has been hit by policy changes under the Trump administration, including a rollback of electric vehicle incentives. Additionally, Musk’s vocal political stances have fueled consumer backlash, adding to investor concerns.
Despite Tesla’s challenges, Musk could see his wealth rise dramatically if he achieves a proposed $1 trillion (£740 billion) pay package tied to ambitious performance targets over the next decade.
Ellison’s Political and Business Moves
Ellison, 81, has been a prominent figure in both tech and politics. A known ally of President Donald Trump, he recently appeared alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son to announce Stargate, a US-based project aimed at strengthening AI infrastructure.
Oracle has also been floated as a potential buyer of TikTok, which faces a looming US ban unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells its stake. Trump has publicly supported Ellison as a preferred buyer, saying in January, “I’d like Larry to buy it, too.”
Beyond tech, Ellison has expanded into media. He financed the bulk of an $8 billion acquisition bid by his son David Ellison, whose company Skydance Media recently finalized a merger with Paramount, the owner of CBS and MTV.
Ellison, who co-founded Oracle in 1977 and served as CEO until 2014, now holds the roles of chairman and chief technology officer, cementing his legacy as one of Silicon Valley’s most influential figures.
