Oracle’s Larry Ellison rises to no. 2 billionaire spot as AI cloud boom fuels his fortune
At 80, Ellison overtakes Mark Zuckerberg with a $251B fortune, driven by a 90% stock surge since April and strategic AI partnerships, cementing Oracle’s central role in global cloud infrastructure.
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Larry Ellison, the 80-year-old co‑founder and CTO of Oracle, has vaulted into the second spot on the global billionaire rankings, surpassing Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. As of mid-July 2025, Bloomberg reports his net worth stands at approximately $251.2 billion, placing him just behind Elon Musk, the only person wealthier, with Meta’s Zuckerberg trailing close behind at about $251 billion .
Ellison’s dramatic ascent stems from a remarkable rally in Oracle’s stock, which soared more than 90% between late April and mid‑July, fueled by surging demand for cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence services . This rally added nearly $56 billion to his wealth in just over a month, according reports.
Ellison founded Oracle in 1977 and served as CEO until 2014.
Oracle, where Ellison retains a roughly 40–42% stake, has been a key beneficiary of the AI revolution. The company’s stock nearly tripled since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, underscoring institutional investors’ confidence in its cloud strategy. Quarterly revenues climbed 11% year over year to $15.9 billion, with cloud services up 14%.
Ellison’s influence extends beyond Oracle. His company is a founding member of Project Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative announced in January 2025 alongside OpenAI, SoftBank, and MGX, touted to power next-generation models.
A recent $30 billion cloud infrastructure deal with OpenAI further signals Oracle's ambition .
Once a two-time college dropout, Ellison’s journey, from programming enthusiast to cloud titan, is emblematic of Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial rise. Though he stepped down as CEO in 2014, he remains Oracle’s CTO and sits on inspired boards.
