Larry Ellison tops Elon Musk as world’s richest following Oracle’s AI surge
Elon Musk has lost his long-held title as the world’s richest person to Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, following a historic surge in Oracle’s stock value fuelled by soaring demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Ellison’s fortune increased by an unprecedented USD101 billion in a single day, bringing his net worth to USD393 billion. Musk now trails with USD385 billion.
The leap marks the biggest one-day wealth increase ever recorded by the index.
The remarkable rally came after Oracle announced stunning quarterly earnings on Tuesday evening.
Shares of the tech giant soared 40 per cent by midday Wednesday, driven by surging demand for its data centre capacity from AI firms.
CEO Safra Catz revealed that Oracle had secured four multibillion-dollar contracts in the past quarter and expected to sign several more in the coming months.
In July, the company struck a landmark deal to supply ChatGPT-maker OpenAI with 4.5 gigawatts of electricity to power its growing AI software needs.
Oracle’s strong position as a backbone for AI computing has propelled its stock up 103 per cent this year. With a market value just shy of USD700 billion, Oracle now stands as one of the most powerful forces in the global tech race, alongside Nvidia, Microsoft and other AI-driven giants.
Musk, who first clinched the “world’s richest” title in 2021, has largely retained it thanks to his stakes in Tesla and SpaceX.
He briefly ceded the crown in 2021 to LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and in 2024 to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos but always managed to reclaim it.
Ellison’s path to the top traces back to 1977 when he dropped out of college and co-founded Oracle. Now 81, he remains the company’s largest individual shareholder.
Beyond business, Ellison owns 98 per cent of Hawaii’s Lana’i island, revived the Indian Wells tennis tournament called the “fifth slam” and has long-standing political and business ties in the United States.
