Larry Ellison, the visionary co-founder of Oracle, has reshaped the global wealth landscape, dethroning Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person. This historic shift occurred on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, as Oracle’s shares increased by over 40%, propelling the company’s market value towards an astonishing $1 trillion. Ellison’s personal fortune soared by more than $100 billion in a single day, reaching an estimated $393 billion, comfortably surpassing Musk’s $385 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
This unprecedented wealth surge is primarily attributed to Oracle’s strategic pivot and burgeoning dominance in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The company announced a staggering $450 billion-plus backlog for cloud services and secured multi-billion-dollar computing contracts with major AI players like Nvidia and OpenAI.
Oracle CEO Safra Catz highlighted the company’s transformation, stating, “Clearly, we had an amazing start to the year because Oracle has become the go-to place for AI workloads.” She further elaborated on the company’s success, noting, “We have signed significant cloud contracts with the who’s who of AI, including OpenAI, xAI, Meta, Nvidia, AMD, and many others.” Oracle anticipates its cloud infrastructure revenue to skyrocket from $18 billion this fiscal year to $144 billion over the next four years, a testament to the insatiable demand for computing power in the AI race.
Ellison, 81, who co-founded Oracle over 40 years ago, maintains a substantial 41% stake in the company, which has been instrumental in his wealth accumulation. His long-term commitment to holding his shares, coupled with Oracle’s aggressive stock buyback programs over the past 15 years, has nearly doubled his ownership percentage.
Beyond Oracle, Ellison’s diverse portfolio includes ownership of the Hawaiian island of Lanai, the Indian Wells Open tennis tournament, and a stake in Tesla. His close ties with political figures, including President Donald Trump, have also played a role, particularly in projects like the $500 billion Stargate initiative, aimed at building AI infrastructure in the US with Oracle technology.
As the AI revolution continues, Oracle’s position as a critical “picks-and-shovels” provider for AI companies solidifies Ellison’s standing at the apex of global wealth.
