Tesla boss Elon Musk has lost his long-held crown as the world’s richest individual. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison now sits at the top of the global wealth rankings, following a record-breaking surge in Oracle’s share price.
According to Bloomberg, Ellison’s net worth climbed to an estimated $393 billion on 10 September, briefly topping $400 billion after Oracle stock spiked more than 40 percent in a single trading session. Musk’s wealth, by contrast, is valued at about $364 billion.
The 81-year-old Ellison, who co-founded Oracle in 1977 and still serves as the company’s chief technology officer, owns more than 40 percent of the database giant. Tuesday’s rally marks Oracle’s biggest one-day jump since 1992, triggered by projections of $144 billion in cloud infrastructure revenue over the next four years — largely fuelled by surging demand for artificial intelligence services.
Ellison had been ranked fourth on Forbes’ billionaire list earlier this year, behind Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. Prior to Oracle’s earnings call on 9 September, his fortune was estimated at about $192 billion.
The billionaire’s massive payday adds to a portfolio that extends beyond software. He played a central role in the $8 billion Paramount–Skydance merger, led by his son David Ellison. He also owns 98 percent of the Hawaiian island of Lana’i, which he purchased in 2012 for $300 million and made his permanent residence in 2020.
Ellison and Musk are no strangers. Ellison served on Tesla’s board between 2018 and 2022, and the two tech moguls are known to share a cordial relationship. Still, the shift in rankings underscores the volatility of tech wealth in an era dominated by AI-driven valuations.
In a rare public statement in July, Ellison said he would be concentrating efforts on his Ellison Institute of Technology, a for-profit venture launched in 2016 to pursue solutions to global problems, including hunger, healthcare, and climate change.
For Musk, the reversal comes after a turbulent year for Tesla, marked by production challenges, slowing electric vehicle sales, and intensifying competition in China. The billionaire, who also leads SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter), now faces mounting scrutiny from both investors and rivals.
