The American technology magnate Larry Ellison has surpassed Elon Musk to become the world’s wealthiest individual after Oracle, the company he co-founded, saw its shares soar in early trading on Wednesday.
Ellison’s fortune climbed sharply as Oracle, in which he holds a 41% stake, reported stronger-than-expected financial results.
Oracle’s stock surged more than 40% to reach $340 per share, valuing the enterprise software company at $958bn (£707bn). Ellison’s holding is now worth $393bn, edging past Musk’s wealth of $384bn, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
The share rally marked Oracle’s largest single-day gain and the biggest one-day wealth increase ever recorded on the Bloomberg index. Ellison and Musk remain well ahead of Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in global wealth rankings.
At 81, Ellison’s wealth extends beyond Oracle, with additional interests in Tesla, where Musk serves as chief executive, a professional sailing team, the Indian Wells Open tennis tournament, and ownership of the Hawaiian island of Lanai, Bloomberg reported.
Despite their rivalry in the wealth rankings, Musk maintains a close relationship with Ellison, who has often been described as a mentor to the South Africa-born entrepreneur.
Ellison served on Tesla’s board between 2018 and 2022 and contributed $1bn towards Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, now rebranded as X. According to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Musk, Ellison pledged “a billion dollars, or whatever you recommend” when asked to invest. The book also notes that Musk frequently visits Ellison’s island retreat in Hawaii.
Ellison is also known for his political alliances, notably his support of Donald Trump, having joined the former US president at the White House for events such as the launch of the Stargate project, which pledged $500bn towards artificial intelligence infrastructure. Musk, once a close ally of Trump and now a major supporter of his 2024 campaign, saw their relationship deteriorate earlier this year.
