Depending on the source, Larry Ellison became the second richest person in the world either a few days ago or yesterday. Bloomberg used the second date. Ellison moved ahead of Mark Zuckerberg as his net worth hit $251 billion, which is just a fraction ahead of that of the Meta founder. Both trail Elon Musk, who holds the top spot at $358 billion. Among the top 10 people on the Bloomberg Billionaires list, Ellison has seen the largest increase this year, at $59 billion.
Ellison started Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) in 1977. It is primarily a cloud computing and database company. He never graduated from college, and he is now 80 years old. Oracle’s growth has exploded. Ten years ago, its revenue was $38 billion. In 2024, it was $53 billion. It is also viewed as one of the top AI companies in the world.
Just discussing an artificial intelligence future for a tech company has helped lift stock prices. Nvidia Corp.’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) market capitalization surpassed $4 trillion recently. Its chips are considered the backbone of global AI development. It is the first company in history to top the $4 trillion mark.
Oracle’s stock is up 41% this year, outpacing the S&P 500’s 6% run-up. Its market cap has reached $658 billion. This has made Oracle the 16th most valuable company in the world. Ellison owns 48% of the company’s stock.
Ellison’s wealth has enabled him to enjoy activities that only the very rich can afford. He has funded the U.S. boat in the America’s Cup. That could have cost him more than $200 million. He owns a 454-foot yacht called “The Rising Sun.” He owns 98% of Lanai, which is one of the Hawaiian islands. That cost him $300 million in 2012.
Ellison could be in a race for the world’s richest person for some time. Zuckerberg is only $1 billion behind him. Jeff Bezos is behind by only $13 billion.
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