Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle and a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has overtaken Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Ellison’s net worth jumped to $393 billion (£290bn) on Wednesday morning, surpassing Musk’s $385 billion (£284bn). The shift in rankings came after Oracle’s stock soared more than 40% on the back of strong earnings and rising demand for its cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) services.
Oracle’s Cloud and AI Boom
Oracle reported a sharp increase in revenue from its cloud infrastructure business, projecting growth of 77% this year to $18bn, with more expansion expected in coming years. Chief executive Safra Catz revealed that the company signed four multibillion-dollar contracts in the last quarter and anticipates more deals soon.
The surge in Oracle’s share price has been fuelled by growing demand from AI companies for its data centres, making the 81-year-old Ellison one of the biggest winners in the AI investment boom.
Musk Faces Tesla Setbacks
Elon Musk had held the title of world’s richest person for nearly a year. However, his fortune has been hit by declining Tesla shares as the electric vehicle maker struggles with investor concerns over the Trump administration’s rollback of green energy policies and consumer backlash to Musk’s political involvement.
Musk still has the potential to reclaim the top spot. Tesla’s board has proposed a historic pay package that could be worth more than $1 trillion (£740bn) if Musk meets ambitious performance targets over the next decade.
Larry Ellison’s Political and Media Ties
Ellison, who co-founded Oracle in 1977, remains its chairman and chief technology officer after stepping down as CEO in 2014. Over the years, he has been as well known for his lavish lifestyle as for his business empire.
He has also positioned himself as a key Trump ally. Earlier this year, Ellison joined OpenAI’s Sam Altman and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son to launch Stargate, a project aimed at building AI infrastructure in the United States.
Ellison has also been linked to media and tech acquisitions. Oracle has been floated as a potential buyer for TikTok, which faces a US ban unless it severs ties with Chinese parent company ByteDance. Trump himself hinted at preferring Ellison over Musk for the deal, saying in January: “I’d like Larry to buy it, too.”
In addition, Ellison financed most of an $8bn takeover bid led by his son David Ellison to acquire Paramount, the media giant that owns CBS and MTV. That deal, involving David’s company Skydance, closed last month.
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