Larry Ellison Overtakes Musk and Bezos to Become World's Richest Person — Here's What You Didn't Know About Him
Tech titan Larry Ellison has just shot to the top of the billionaire rankings, surpassing both Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. But who is the Oracle co-founder, and what secrets lie behind his staggering wealth?
In today in richest-guy-on-Earth whiplash: Larry Ellison briefly leapfrogged Elon Musk for the crown, then slid right back down before the closing bell. If you blinked, you missed it.
What just happened
Oracle shares went on a tear Wednesday, spiking more than 40% at one point. On paper, that surge tacked about $100 billion onto Ellison's fortune, which live trackers briefly pegged at roughly $393 billion (£290bn). That was just enough to edge past Musk's estimated $385 billion (£284bn). By late in the day, some of those gains cooled, and Musk reclaimed the No. 1 slot. This is your regular reminder that these wealth counters are a scoreboard tied to every tick of a stock price.
So who is Larry Ellison?
- Co-founded Oracle in the late 1970s and turned it into a database empire that basically underpins a chunk of corporate IT.
- Went mainstream in the 90s as the tech mogul with the larger-than-life lifestyle.
- He is 81 and still very much in the building as Oracle's chairman and chief technology officer.
- Off the clock: think superyacht, a sprawling car collection, and the not-at-all-subtle flex of owning a Hawaiian island.
- Personal life has been tabloid fodder over the years; he has been married multiple times.
The baggage
Ellison has never exactly played small ball. He has been criticized for Oracle's hard-edged business tactics, has faced scrutiny over tax strategies and offshore holdings aimed at minimizing taxes, and has been involved in various high-profile lawsuits. Inside baseball, but relevant: when a company's fortunes rise on enterprise contracts and M&A, you collect both headlines and complaints.
Politics, friends, and the TikTok thing
Ellison has kept close with Republican circles for about a decade, including a friendly rapport with Donald Trump and visits to Mar-a-Lago. Trump has publicly floated the idea of Ellison getting involved with TikTok and once labeled him:
"an amazing man and businessman"
Ellison is also tight with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has made large donations via Friends of the Israel Defense Forces; in 2017, he gave the nonprofit its biggest-ever gift at the time, $16.6 million. It is not clear if he has made additional contributions more recently.
Big picture
The world's-richest title is basically musical chairs with market caps. Ellison grabbed the seat for a minute thanks to Oracle's rocket day, then Musk took it back by the end of trading. The scoreboard will keep flipping.
Tell me: have you ever earned $100 billion in 30 minutes?