Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle Corp., is edging closer to Elon Musk for the title of the world’s richest person after an unprecedented one-day surge in wealth.
Ellison’s fortune jumped by $70 billion on Tuesday after Oracle reported quarterly results that surpassed Wall Street expectations and forecast strong growth in its cloud infrastructure business.
The after-hours rally sent Oracle’s shares up more than 26%, the company’s largest single-day surge since 1999.
If the gains hold when U.S. markets open Wednesday, the increase will mark the biggest one-day wealth jump recorded by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The boost brings Ellison’s net worth to roughly $364 billion, narrowing the gap with Musk, whose wealth is estimated at $384 billion. Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, has held the top spot on the index for just over 300 days.
A brief background
At 81, Ellison has seen his fortune largely tied to Oracle, the software giant he co-founded in 1977 and still oversees as chairman and chief technology officer. His wealth has expanded rapidly this year, fueled by investor confidence in Oracle’s ability to compete with Amazon, Microsoft, and Google in cloud computing.
The company’s latest results showed a significant rise in bookings, underscoring its aggressive push into the enterprise cloud market. That momentum, paired with investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence applications, has helped propel Oracle’s stock more than 45% in 2025 alone.
Nairametrics reported that he became the second-richest man after his net worth jumped by about $40 billion in a single day. Ever since, his net worth has continued to grow at a steady pace.
What you should know
Musk, by contrast, has seen his wealth pressured by declines in Tesla shares, which are down 14% this year. While Tesla remains central to Musk’s fortune, his net worth also depends on the valuations of SpaceX and other ventures.
The competition among the world’s wealthiest has become a familiar narrative over the past four years, with Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault trading places at the top of the billionaire rankings. Arnault, who briefly held the crown in 2023, now trails both Ellison and Musk, with a fortune tied to the luxury goods empire behind Louis Vuitton and Dior.
Ellison’s ascent underscores the shifting dynamics of tech wealth in an era where investor bets on artificial intelligence and cloud services are driving valuations to new heights. If Oracle sustains its momentum, Ellison could soon overtake Musk, who first claimed the title of the world’s richest person in 2021 before briefly losing it to Bezos and Arnault.
