Oracle Co-founder and CTO Larry Ellison has become the world's richest person, edging past Tesla CEO Elon Musk, after his wealth surged dramatically driven by a surge in his firm's stock.
Forbes' live billionaire list shows Ellison's wealth rose by $101 billion, his net worth standing at $395.7 billion following Oracle shares surging 41% on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wednesday — the biggest one-day jump since 1992. In contrast, Musk lost wealth as Tesla shares fell 14% in 2025.
The stock of Oracle surged after the firm released a bold forecast for its cloud business, well-placed to capture increased need for computer services for artificial intelligence, and sent the firm's market value soaring to $947 billion.
Musk had been at the number one position in global wealth tables for 300 days. Initially, he had achieved the position in 2021, but regained it last year after losing it briefly to Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and LVMH's Bernard Arnault.
At 80, Ellison remains Oracle's Chairman and Chief Technology Officer. He started the company in 1977 and was CEO until 2014. His wealth is still deeply linked to Oracle, which had already risen 45% this year prior to the recent surge.
Oracle forecasts total revenue growth of 12–14% and cloud revenue growth of 32–36% for the second quarter. Oracle has also been at the forefront of the U.S. government's AI efforts under President Donald Trump's Project Stargate, along with collaborators like OpenAI and SoftBank.
Ellison has been critical of the vision being pushed by Oracle for AI, suggesting that it will introduce a new era of surveillance, where technology can enhance public behavior through end-to-end recording and reporting.
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