Onome Amuge
Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder and longtime technology visionary, has overtaken Tesla’s Elon Musk to become the world’s richest individual, following a rally in Oracle’s share price that showcased the company’s growing role in powering the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Ellison’s fortune climbed to $393 billion (£290bn) on Wednesday, surpassing Musk’s $385 billion (£284bn). It is the first time the 80-year-old has led the global rich list, cementing a decades-long bet on enterprise software and, more recently, the AI-driven demand for cloud infrastructure.
The scale of Ellison’s overnight windfall was striking. Bloomberg calculated that his net worth swelled by $101 billion in a single day, the largest one-day increase recorded since the index was launched.
Oracle’s AI breakthrough
Oracle’s shares rose 41 per cent on Wednesday, the highest single-session gain since 1992, after it reported quarterly results that smashed Wall Street expectations. Investors were buoyed by confirmation from chief executive Safra Catz that Oracle had signed four multibillion-dollar contracts to provide AI infrastructure, with more agreements in the pipeline.
The company forecast cloud revenue would climb 77 per cent this year to $18 billion, an acceleration driven by rising demand for computing power from AI developers. Analysts described the company’s $455 billion backlog in AI-related demand as staggering, underscoring Oracle’s rapid ascent in a market previously dominated by Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
In July, Oracle struck a landmark agreement to provide OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, with 4.5 gigawatts of electricity to run its data-hungry models, signalling its ambition to become a critical player in the AI supply chain.
The rally added $244 billion to Oracle’s market capitalisation in a single day, lifting its value to about $922 billion. The company vaulted from 13th to 10th in the S&P 500 rankings, overtaking Eli Lilly, Walmart and JPMorgan Chase.
Ellison’s long bet
Ellison, who co-founded Oracle in 1977 and still serves as chairman and chief technology officer, is seen to have accumulated the vast majority of his wealth through his stake in the company. His latest windfall reflects not only a stock surge but also the durability of Oracle’s business model, which has pivoted from database software to cloud services while capturing a lucrative share of AI infrastructure spending.
Known for his brash style and extravagant lifestyle, Ellison owns Hawaii’s sixth-largest island, Lanai, as well as a fleet of yachts and mansions. Yet, the billionaire has nevertheless remained tightly focused on Oracle’s technological positioning. For decades, he has insisted that the future of computing lay in centralised, high-performance systems, a view that has found new resonance in the age of AI.
By contrast, Musk’s fortune has been dented by a fall in Tesla’s stock, which has slipped 13 per cent this year amid weakening investor sentiment. Concerns about the Trump administration’s rollback of electric vehicle subsidies and growing unease over Musk’s political interventions have weighed on the carmaker’s valuation.
Musk, who first became the world’s richest man in 2021 and reclaimed the title last year, has now lost it again after a reign of just over 300 days. He previously ceded the crown to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and LVMH chair Bernard Arnault.
Still, Musk’s wealth could rebound, analysts project. Tesla’s board has proposed a compensation package worth more than $1 trillion, contingent on achieving aggressive growth milestones. If approved and realised, it could propel Musk into unprecedented territory as the world’s first trillionaire.
