Larry Ellison Overtakes Elon Musk as World's Richest Person

Larry Ellison overtakes Elon Musk as the world’s wealthiest individual. His fortune surged by an astonishing $70 billion after Oracle Corp. released quarterly results on Tuesday that blew past Wall Street’s expectations and pointed to even stronger growth ahead.

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The sharp increase boosted Ellison’s total net worth to $364 billion, leaving him just $20 billion shy of Musk’s $384 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. If Oracle’s after-hours gains hold when the market opens on Wednesday, Ellison’s windfall will mark the single largest one-day increase in the history of the index.

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Musk has long been a fixture at the top of the global wealth rankings. He first claimed the title of world’s richest person in 2021, briefly lost it to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault of LVMH, and then reclaimed the crown in 2023. He has now held the top spot for more than 300 consecutive days.

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Ellison, now 81, co-founded Oracle decades ago and continues to serve as the company’s chairman and chief technology officer. Unlike Musk, whose fortune is spread across Tesla, SpaceX, and other ventures, the bulk of Ellison’s wealth remains directly tied to Oracle’s performance.

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That connection has paid off in spectacular fashion. Oracle’s stock, already up 45% year to date through Tuesday’s close, skyrocketed more than 26% in after-hours trading. The catalyst was a massive jump in bookings and an ambitious growth forecast for its cloud infrastructure division.

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The rally marked Oracle’s most significant single-day surge since 1999, highlighting just how transformative the AI-driven demand for cloud computing has become for the company.

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The market reaction underscores how dramatically Oracle has repositioned itself. Once criticized for being late to embrace cloud services, the company is now reaping the rewards of a global scramble for artificial intelligence computing power.

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Its recent results showed an unprecedented spike in remaining performance obligations future revenue tied to signed deals as AI start-ups and tech giants alike turn to Oracle for cloud infrastructure.

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Ellison’s wealth leap reflects this broader shift. While Musk remains firmly in the lead, the gap between the two men has narrowed considerably, sparking speculation that Ellison could surpass Musk if Oracle maintains its upward momentum.

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The rivalry also highlights different paths to immense wealth creation in the modern era. Musk has built his fortune primarily on electric vehicles and space exploration, with Tesla and SpaceX fueling his rise.

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Ellison, meanwhile, has amassed his fortune through decades of building Oracle into a powerhouse in software and enterprise technology an empire now being supercharged by the artificial intelligence boom.

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For investors, Oracle’s surge represents more than just a windfall for its founder. It reflects growing conviction that AI is fundamentally reshaping demand for cloud infrastructure.

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With competitors like Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet also racing to expand data center capacity, Oracle’s performance signals it has carved out a meaningful role in this high-stakes market.

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Ellison’s near-overtake of Musk on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a vivid reminder of how quickly fortunes can shift in an era where technology trends drive trillion-dollar valuations. Just as Musk’s wealth ballooned during the EV revolution, Ellison is now riding the wave of AI adoption.

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Whether or not Ellison surpasses Musk in the coming days, one thing is clear: Oracle’s transformation into a leading cloud and AI infrastructure provider has already cemented his place among the wealthiest individuals in history.

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And if the company’s growth projections prove accurate, Ellison’s net worth could climb even higher potentially rewriting the rankings of the world’s richest people in the near future.

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