Oracle’s Larry Ellison briefly edges past Elon Musk as world’s richest person

A surge in Oracle’s stock—driven by strong cloud and AI growth forecasts—briefly made Larry Ellison the world’s richest person, before a slight market dip returned Elon Musk to the top spot by day’s end

In a dramatic shift on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison briefly overtook Elon Musk as the world’s richest person this week, driven by a sharp rise in Oracle’s stock value. Ellison’s net worth surged to $393 billion on Wednesday (September 10) morning, placing him ahead of Musk, whose wealth stood at $385 billion at the time.

The temporary reshuffling of the billionaire leaderboard was fuelled by Oracle’s upbeat earnings outlook, particularly in its cloud infrastructure and AI services. Shares of the tech giant soared more than 40% after the company revealed robust growth expectations, especially in its cloud business, which is forecasted to generate $18 billion in revenue this year, a 77% increase.

However, Oracle’s stock retreated slightly by market close, nudging Musk back into the top position by day’s end. Musk had held the title of the world’s wealthiest individual for nearly a year.

Oracle’s cloud growth and AI strategy drive gains

The renewed investor confidence in Oracle stems from a series of multi-billion-dollar AI infrastructure deals and an increasing demand for data center capacity. CEO Safra Catz disclosed that the company recently signed four major contracts, with more anticipated in the coming months, signaling strong momentum in its AI and cloud services strategy.

Ellison, who co-founded Oracle in 1977 and now serves as Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, has reasserted his position as a major force in the tech industry. At 81, he remains actively involved in Oracle’s expansion into next-generation technologies.

Meanwhile, Musk’s flagship company, Tesla, has seen its stock decline in 2025 amid concerns over regulatory rollbacks affecting electric vehicles and controversies tied to Musk’s political activity. Despite this, Musk could still unlock a record-breaking compensation package—estimated at over $1 trillion—if he meets ambitious long-term targets proposed by Tesla’s board.

Ellison’s political alliances and media ambitions

Ellison’s influence extends beyond technology. He has publicly aligned himself with U.S. President Donald Trump, appearing alongside tech leaders like Sam Altman and Masayoshi Son in January to announce Project Stargate, a national AI infrastructure initiative.

He has also emerged as a contender in the media world. Ellison was a key financier behind his son David Ellison’s successful $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global, expanding the family’s footprint into entertainment and media.

Additionally, Oracle is reportedly a potential buyer of TikTok, amid U.S. government pressure on ByteDance to divest the platform.