Larry Ellison’s wealth skyrocketed by more than $100 billion on Wednesday after Oracle, the software company he co-founded in 1977, shared aggressive projections for its cloud business. Investors responded with enthusiasm, sending Oracle’s stock up nearly 36% in a single day. The rally boosted the value of Ellison’s stake in the company to about $380 billion.
The surge brought the 81-year-old billionaire closer to overtaking Elon Musk as the world’s richest individual. Forbes places Musk’s net worth at about $437 billion, while Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index briefly listed Ellison ahead of Musk during the trading day.
Holding Steady in Oracle for Decades
Ellison has taken a different approach compared to many other tech founders: rather than gradually selling off his holdings, he has kept a tight grip on Oracle shares for more than 25 years. He owns over 1.1 million shares, and his long-term commitment has amplified his gains during Oracle’s recent run.
Still heavily involved in the company, Ellison serves as chief technology officer and chairman, shaping strategy and maintaining Oracle’s direction. This contrasts with his former protégé Marc Benioff, now the head of Salesforce, who has reduced his holdings over time. Benioff’s net worth is about $10 billion, a fraction of Ellison’s.
By comparison, Musk’s fortune has been driven by Tesla’s performance-based pay packages and the meteoric rise in the value of SpaceX.
Expanding Beyond Databases
Ellison’s reach extends well beyond Oracle’s database roots. In recent years, he has invested heavily across sectors:
- In 2022, Oracle purchased Cerner, a health software firm, for $28 billion, signaling a major push into healthcare.
- That same year, Ellison launched the Ellison Institute of Technology at the University of Oxford, blending research, philanthropy, and innovation.
- Last month, he played a role in the completion of the $8 billion Paramount Global–Skydance merger, bringing him into media.
- And in artificial intelligence, Oracle has become a key infrastructure provider, striking partnerships with OpenAI and positioning itself as a supplier of computing power for AI applications.
These moves show how Ellison has shifted from being solely a tech founder to a power broker in industries ranging from healthcare to entertainment to AI.
Oracle’s Cloud Future
The optimism surrounding Oracle’s stock comes from its bold cloud forecasts. The company revealed that its remaining performance obligation (RPO) — a measure of revenue under contract but not yet recorded — had climbed to $455 billion, a 359% jump compared to last year.
Looking ahead, Oracle predicts its cloud infrastructure revenue could rise from $10 billion in the past fiscal year to $144 billion by 2030. This trajectory places Oracle directly in competition with cloud leaders such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
CEO Safra Catz attributed much of the growth to demand for artificial intelligence, pointing to major contracts signed with companies like OpenAI, xAI, Meta, Nvidia, and AMD.
Growing in Software as Well
Beyond cloud infrastructure, Oracle continues to thrive in enterprise software. The company’s market capitalization topped $920 billion by Wednesday’s close, making it one of the top ten most valuable firms in the S&P 500.
For perspective, rivals ServiceNow and Workday together are valued at about $256 billion, highlighting Oracle’s dominant scale in the sector.
Political Links That Could Prove Useful
Ellison’s influence is not limited to technology and business. He has long been an ally of President Donald Trump, donating to campaigns and assisting with fundraising efforts.
Those ties may carry strategic benefits. The U.S. has pressured ByteDance, owner of TikTok, to divest its American operations. Trump, who has delayed the forced sale, has suggested openness to ByteDance transferring ownership to Musk or Ellison. If such a deal occurred, it would extend Ellison’s role in shaping the technology landscape even further.
Ellison’s sudden wealth surge highlights how quickly fortunes shift among the world’s wealthiest people. Musk has long occupied the top spot, but Ellison’s gains underscore the rising value of cloud computing and AI infrastructure.
The Oracle co-founder is now within striking distance of becoming the world’s richest individual, though the rankings may continue to fluctuate as markets adjust.
