Ellison Rockets to No. 2 Richest After Oracle Stock Boom
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has become the world’s second-richest person after an extraordinary $40 billion surge in his net worth over just two days, fueled by a sharp rise in Oracle’s stock price driven by booming AI demand.
Ellison’s fortune soared to $258 billion, propelling him past Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg on Forbes’ real-time billionaires index. Only Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk remains ahead with an estimated net worth of $414 billion.
The leap followed Oracle’s stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings report, which sent the company’s shares up 13% on Thursday and another 7% by midday Friday. Shares peaked at around $215, pushing Oracle’s market value up by $104 billion—more than the entire valuation of companies like Intel or Nike.
Ellison, who holds a 41% stake in Oracle, gained $25 billion on Thursday and $16 billion on Friday alone—marking the largest daily wealth increases of any billionaire, according to Forbes.
Oracle reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.70 and revenue of $15.9 billion, beating Wall Street projections. Analysts credited the surge to rising demand for Oracle’s cloud infrastructure, which is increasingly being used to power artificial intelligence applications.
“This was a watershed moment,” said Brad Zelnick of Deutsche Bank, while TD Cowen’s Derrick Wood predicted rapid growth for Oracle in its 2026 fiscal year, driven by its expanding role in the AI sector.
Oracle now plays a central role in cloud and AI infrastructure, hosting data for enterprises, government systems, and platforms like TikTok’s U.S. operations.
At 80, Ellison remains actively engaged in both tech and politics. He previously served on Tesla’s board, supported Republican political causes, and recently helped launch Stargate—an AI infrastructure venture involving Oracle, SoftBank, and OpenAI.
The stunning rally reflects growing investor confidence in AI infrastructure providers and cements Ellison’s legacy as one of the most influential figures in modern technology.
