In a dramatic financial shift powered by the AI boom, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison briefly became the world’s richest person, overtaking Elon Musk for several hours on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The sudden leap in Ellison’s wealth was sparked by Oracle’s (ORCL) stunning earnings report on Tuesday evening, which revealed surging demand for its data center infrastructure driven by AI customers. On Wednesday, Oracle’s stock soared as much as 43%, ultimately closing up 36%, marking its biggest single-day gain since 1992.
The rally added $244 billion to Oracle’s market cap, pushing it to approximately $922 billion and making it the 10th most valuable company in the S&P 500 — leaping ahead of giants like Eli Lilly, Walmart, and JPMorgan Chase. Larry Ellison, Oracle’s largest shareholder, saw his net worth skyrocket by $89 billion, briefly reaching $383.2 billion, eclipsing Musk’s valuation at the time. Bloomberg noted the surge as the largest one-day wealth increase ever recorded.
Though Ellison briefly wore the crown, Elon Musk reclaimed the top spot by market close, with his net worth hitting $384.2 billion, edging out Ellison by just $1 billion. Despite Tesla (TSLA) shares falling 14% year-to-date, Musk remains ahead, bolstered by SpaceX and a new compensation package at Tesla that could potentially be worth $1 trillion if performance targets are met.
Musk has previously ceded the title to LVMH’s Bernard Arnault in 2021 and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos in 2024 but has largely held on to it in recent years. Oracle’s quarterly report revealed four new multibillion-dollar contracts, which CEO Safra Catz said are just the beginning. The company’s $455 billion AI services backlog underscores its growing stature in powering the AI revolution. Oracle has even inked a deal to provide 4.5 gigawatts of power to OpenAI, ChatGPT’s parent company.
“Microsoft and Oracle really aren’t software companies anymore — they are AI cloud infrastructure stocks that happen to sell software too,” said Ben Reitzes, analyst at Melius Research.
Oracle stock is up 97% year-to-date, and major firms like Bank of America and Citi upgraded their outlook, moving Oracle to a “buy” rating.
Ellison, 81, co-founded Oracle in 1977 after dropping out of college. Beyond tech, he owns 98% of Hawaii’s Lana’i Island, revived the Indian Wells tennis tournament, and has long-standing ties with former President Donald Trump. His brief time atop the billionaire rankings adds another chapter to a legendary tech career — and a reminder of the growing financial power of companies building the AI-powered future.
