Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has overtaken Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk to claim the title of the world’s wealthiest individual. The rise in Larry Ellison’s net worth is closely tied to Oracle’s strong market performance.
A dramatic surge in Oracle’s share price following upbeat earnings guidance has propelled Ellison’s fortune to record levels.
Ellison’s net worth reached $393 billion as of Thursday morning in New York, outpacing Musk’s $385 billion. The leap represents one of the largest single-day gains ever tracked by Bloomberg’s wealth index, with Ellison adding more than $100 billion to his fortune in just hours.
The surge followed Oracle's forecast of stronger-than-expected demand for its cloud services, sending its shares up nearly 40% to $338. Ellison owns roughly 1.16 billion Oracle shares, equating to over 40% of the company, making the software giant the backbone of his fortune.
Changes in Elon Musk's Wealth often influence discussions about global tech fortunes. Musk’s wealth has come under pressure in 2025. The shares of Tesla have dropped approximately 14% since the beginning of the year, erasing an estimated $40 billion from Tesla's valuation.
While Musk still retains a massive stake in Tesla worth $250 billion, as well as approximately 40% ownership of SpaceX, worth around $80 billion, recent market factors have trimmed his lead. Earlier this year, Musk’s fortune was estimated at $420 billion compared with Ellison’s $230 billion.
Ellison’s story reflects resilience and ambition. Born in New York and raised in Chicago, he was adopted by relatives before moving to California, where he worked as a programmer.
In 1977, he co-founded Oracle Corporation, which went public in 1986. He served as CEO until 2014 before transitioning to chairman and chief technology officer.
Beyond Oracle, Ellison has diversified interests: investments in Tesla, ownership of Hawaii’s Lanai island, the Indian Wells tennis tournament, sailing ventures, private jets, and luxury properties.
Oracle's transformation into a serious competitor in cloud computing has been a principal factor in its valuation. Since the launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022, Oracle’s valuation tripled following the high demand for computing power from AI startups.
The Oracle share price surge has boosted investor confidence in the company’s growth. The partnerships with OpenAI, NVIDIA, and TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, have further bolstered its standing.
The company also closed a 4.5-gigawatt data center capacity deal with OpenAI. Oracle is also involved in the $500 billion Stargate AI initiative, which US President Donald Trump announced earlier this year.
Also Read: Oracle Share Price Jumps 9.14% to ₹9,182 After Strong Q1 Results
The title of the world’s richest person often shifts between leading tech entrepreneurs. The two billionaires highlight different stories in technology: Musk with his bets on electric vehicles, space, and AI, and Ellison with his firm hold of enterprise software and aggressive moves into AI-based cloud services.
Global billionaires continue to diversify their portfolios across various sectors, including technology, energy, and space ventures. Whether or not Ellison holds the top position will depend on the growth of Oracle and whether Musk's companies can regain their market edge.