Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison is now the world’s richest person with $393bn, surpassing Elon Musk as Oracle’s AI-powered cloud business soars

Tech billionaire Larry Ellison has overtaken Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person after a surge in Oracle shares lifted his fortune to $393 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Also read: Elon Musk reclaims world’s richest title with $6 Billion AI startup boost

Musk, whose wealth dropped to $385 billion following a slump in Tesla stock, was displaced on Wednesday as Oracle’s cloud business soared on the back of artificial intelligence demand.

Oracle, co-founded by Ellison nearly five decades ago, has become a key infrastructure provider for AI firms, including ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, which rely on its powerful data centres instead of building their own.

The company’s shift from traditional databases to AI-driven cloud computing has paid off massively.

Earlier this year, Oracle unveiled its $500 billion “Stargate” initiative to build next-generation data centres tailored for artificial intelligence workloads.

Ellison, 81, has led Oracle through decades of transformation, from early CIA contracts that birthed the “Oracle” database to blockbuster acquisitions of PeopleSoft, Sun Microsystems, and NetSuite.

After stepping down as CEO in 2014, he remains executive chairman and chief technology officer.

Beyond tech, Ellison owns 98% of Lanai, Hawaii’s sixth-largest island, and has invested heavily in sailing, tennis, and most recently, Hollywood.

In 2025, he helped engineer the $28 billion merger of Skydance with Paramount, now co-led by his son David, while his daughter Megan is an acclaimed film producer.

Ellison has also maintained political influence through donations and participation in Washington’s tech-policy discussions.

Also read: ‘Over-take’ Elon Musk becomes world’s second-richest person a week after he overtook Mark Zuckerberg

While Musk’s fortunes have been dented by Tesla’s share slump, Oracle’s rise as an AI cloud giant has propelled Ellison to the top spot for the first time in his long career.