Who is Larry Ellison of Oracle, who became the richest man in the world?

When Bloomberg reported that Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison had briefly overtaken Elon Musk as the world’s richest man, the news sparked global curiosity. How did an 80-year-old database pioneer suddenly climb to the top of the billionaire rankings? The answer lies in Larry Ellison’s long career building Oracle, and one historic cloud deal with OpenAI that supercharged his net worth.

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Larry Ellison net worth in 2025

As of 11th September 2025, Larry Ellison’s net worth surged past $300 billion, briefly eclipsing Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. The jump came almost overnight, after Oracle shares soared on strong quarterly earnings and optimism surrounding its artificial intelligence partnerships.

Ellison, who owns roughly 41% of Oracle, saw his fortune rise by nearly $100 billion in a single day, a testament to how deeply his personal wealth is tied to the software giant’s performance.

The Oracle OpenAI deal explained

A major driver of Ellison’s rise is the landmark $300 billion cloud computing deal between Oracle and OpenAI. The contract, part of the ambitious Project Stargate, will see Oracle provide the infrastructure behind OpenAI’s growing demand for computing power.

This agreement pushed Oracle’s “Remaining Performance Obligations” – a measure of contracted future revenues – to a record $455 billion. Investors cheered, sending Oracle’s stock up by more than 35% in a single session. For Ellison, that meant tens of billions added to his net worth almost instantly.

The deal positions Oracle as a critical player in the AI arms race, competing with Amazon, Microsoft, and Google for dominance in cloud infrastructure.

From college dropout to Oracle co-founder

Larry Ellison’s path to wealth was anything but conventional. Born in 1944 in New York and raised in Chicago, he dropped out of college twice before moving to California. In 1977, he co-founded Software Development Laboratories, which soon became Oracle.

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Oracle pioneered relational database systems, revolutionizing how businesses managed information. While companies like Apple and Microsoft captured consumer attention, Oracle became the backbone of the corporate world, powering industries from finance to airlines.

Beyond business, Ellison is famous for his flamboyant lifestyle. He has poured millions into competitive sailing, winning the America’s Cup. In 2012, he purchased 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai, where he’s built resorts and invested in sustainable energy projects.

Ellison also owns a fleet of luxury yachts, private jets, and sprawling real estate from Malibu to Japan. Unlike Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, who are known for understated philanthropy, Ellison has often leaned into his image as Silicon Valley’s boldest billionaire.

Larry Ellison and the future of AI wealth

The title of “world’s richest man” is volatile – markets can reorder billionaire rankings overnight. But Ellison’s rise highlights something deeper: the AI revolution isn’t just creating new fortunes, it’s reviving old ones.

Oracle’s databases have quietly powered global industries for decades. Now, with its bet on AI infrastructure through the OpenAI deal, Oracle has become a central player in the next wave of technology, and Ellison has reaped the rewards.

Whether or not he remains at the top of the global rich list, Larry Ellison’s story is proof that in Silicon Valley, wealth can be rebuilt and sometimes redefined by betting on the next big shift in technology.

Also read: OpenAI partners with Oracle to scale up Stargate AI data centers: All you need to know

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Vyom Ramani

A journalist with a soft spot for tech, games, and things that go beep. While waiting for a delayed metro or rebooting his brain, you’ll find him solving Rubik’s Cubes, bingeing F1, or hunting for the next great snack. View Full Profile