Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has officially dethroned Tesla CEO Elon Musk as the world’s richest person, following a remarkable stock surge that added over $101 billion to his fortune in a single day. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Ellison’s net worth reached $393 billion by Wednesday morning, surpassing Musk’s $385 billion fortune.
Record-Breaking Stock Rally Drives Historic Wealth Transfer
The dramatic wealth shift occurred after Oracle’s stock soared more than 40% on Wednesday, representing the company’s largest single-day gain since 1992. This surge propelled Oracle’s market capitalization to approximately $916 billion, making it the 10th most valuable company in the S&P 500.
The $101 billion single-day gain represents the largest wealth increase ever recorded by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, surpassing Musk’s previous record of $63 billion in December. Ellison owns approximately 1.16 billion Oracle shares, which translates to roughly 41% of the company.
Oracle Stock AI Infrastructure Demand Fuels Oracle’s Growth
The stock rally was triggered by Oracle’s first-quarter earnings report released Tuesday evening, which revealed a massive 359% increase in remaining performance obligations to $455 billion. While the company missed Wall Street’s earnings and revenue estimates, its ambitious future guidance captured investors’ attention.
Oracle CEO Safra Catz announced that the company signed four multibillion-dollar contracts with three different clients during the quarter, including major AI companies like OpenAI, Meta, Nvidia, AMD, and Elon Musk’s xAI. The company projects (Oracle Stock) Oracle Cloud Infrastructure revenue to grow 77% to $18 billion this fiscal year, eventually reaching $144 billion by fiscal 2030.
“Over the next few months, we expect to sign up several additional multi-billion-dollar customers,” Oracle stated, projecting the backlog could soon exceed half a trillion dollars.
Oracle’s Strategic Position in the AI Revolution
The 81-year-old Ellison’s ascension reflects the broader market enthusiasm for AI infrastructure providers. Oracle’s transformation from a traditional database company to an AI-first cloud computing giant positions it to compete directly with Microsoft Azure, Alphabet’s Google Cloud, and Amazon’s AWS.
Oracle recently made headlines for its commitment to AI infrastructure, including plans to spend over $1 billion annually to power a Texas data center with gas generators rather than wait for grid connections. The company is also partnering in the Trump administration’s ambitious AI project Stargate, alongside SoftBank and OpenAI.
Market Context and Industry Impact
This wealth surge comes as Tesla faces challenges, with its stock declining 13% year-to-date while Oracle shares (Oracle Stock) had already climbed 45% before this week’s rally. The contrasting trajectories highlight the shifting dynamics in tech valuations as investors increasingly favor AI infrastructure companies.
The rapid wealth transfer underscores how AI demand is reshaping technology valuations, with cloud infrastructure providers emerging as clear beneficiaries of the ongoing AI revolution. Oracle’s strategic positioning as a crucial supplier of infrastructure for AI enterprises has proven to be a winning formula for investors.
As the technology landscape continues to evolve, Ellison’s rise to the top of the wealth rankings signals a new era where AI infrastructure companies may dominate the market, potentially challenging the traditional tech giants’ positions in the coming years.
