12. 09. 2025 | Natalie Bezděková

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The global billionaire rankings have seen a historic shift. Larry Ellison, co-founder of the technology giant Oracle, has for the first time in his life climbed to the very top, becoming the wealthiest person on the planet. This milestone came after Oracle’s stock surged by more than forty percent in a single day.

This dramatic rise increased Ellison’s wealth by more than $100 billion, pushing his net worth to approximately $393 billion. With this, he has surpassed longtime frontrunner Elon Musk, whose fortune now sits slightly below that figure. At the age of 81, Ellison has become the oldest individual ever to claim the number one spot on the global wealth list.

Ellison founded Oracle in 1977 and built it into one of the most important players in databases, cloud services, and, more recently, artificial intelligence. After 37 years as CEO, he stepped down in 2014 but retained his role as chairman of the board and chief technology officer, ensuring his continued influence on the company’s direction. He still owns more than 40 percent of Oracle’s stock, which played a decisive role in his recent financial leap.

The surge in Oracle’s share price is closely tied to the booming demand for infrastructure supporting generative artificial intelligence. Oracle has entered strategic partnerships, including with OpenAI, and its cloud division is expanding rapidly. The company now handles contracts worth hundreds of billions of dollars, with cloud revenue growing at over fifty percent annually.

Ellison is also known for his bold investments beyond IT. In 2012, he purchased the Hawaiian island of Lanai, where he is developing luxury projects and sustainable agriculture. He holds a significant media stake through his nearly 50 percent ownership of Paramount Skydance. From 2018 to 2022, he also served on Tesla’s board of directors, where he was a major shareholder with tens of millions of shares.

Although Ellison currently sits at the very top, the world of billionaires is highly volatile. Net worths can fluctuate by tens of billions of dollars within a single day as stock markets shift. Still, Ellison’s rise symbolizes how artificial intelligence and cloud services are not only transforming the tech sector but also reshaping the global wealth landscape itself.

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Natalie Bezděková

I am a student of Master's degree in Political Science. I am interested in marketing, especially copywriting and social media. I also focus on political and social events at home and abroad and technological innovations. My free time is filled with sports, reading and a passion for travel.