Outlook Business Desk
Oracle co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Larry Ellison, who owns around 42% of the company, is now the world’s second-richest person. A sharp rise in Oracle’s stock has pushed Larry Ellison above Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Bloomberg’s Billionaire index.
Larry Ellison co-founded Oracle in 1977, growing it from a three-person start-up into a global software and cloud giant. His bold vision made Oracle the world’s top database software firm and a force to reckon with in enterprise tech.
Oracle has emerged as a big winner in the AI boom. Since ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022, its shares have nearly tripled—rising over 90% just since April—driven by soaring revenues and key AI partnerships.
Oracle’s stock rose 5.7% on Tuesday after the US reversed some Biden-era curbs, allowing chipmakers like Nvidia Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to export certain semiconductors to China. The move boosted tech stocks broadly.
A sharp rise in Oracle’s stock has pushed Larry Ellison above Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Bloomberg’s wealth index. Over 80% of Ellison’s wealth is in Oracle stock and options. Zuckerberg now ranks third with $235.7 billion, while Tesla CEO Elon Musk remains at the top with $411.4 billion.
In recent months, Oracle has secured cloud contracts worth tens of billions of dollars and is building gigawatts of data centre capacity. Clients include OpenAI, which recently expanded its usage under the Stargate project with SoftBank.
Larry Ellison has announced a shift in his philanthropic focus. In a post on X (formely twitter), he shared plans to amend his support for the Giving Pledge, aiming to direct more funds toward a specific initiative.
Ellison will now prioritise the Ellison Institute of Technology, founded in 2023 in partnership with the University of Oxford. The institute focuses on breakthroughs in health, agriculture, clean energy, and artificial intelligence.
Though he stepped down as CEO in 2014, 80-year-old Larry Ellison remains Oracle’s chairman and chief technology officer. His return as the world’s second-richest person reflects long-term vision, resilience, and reinvention—not just tech success.