Larry Ellison, the 80-year-old founder of Oracle, has climbed to become the world’s second-richest person, with his net worth soaring to an astounding $251 billion.
This significant leap, which saw his wealth increase by nearly $60 billion in 2025 alone, means he has now surpassed Mark Zuckerberg on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Ellison’s financial ascent is largely attributed to his 40% stake in Oracle, the database giant he founded in 1977.
Oracle’s stock has surged 41% year-to-date, experiencing a particularly strong rally in recent weeks.
This growth comes on the heels of Oracle’s robust earnings and ambitious investments in artificial intelligence (AI).
Like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Ellison has benefited immensely from the current market climate that heavily favors AI stocks.
Oracle recently announced blockbuster end-of-year results, with Q4 revenues reaching $15.9 billion, an 11% increase, and remaining performance obligations jumping 41% to $138 billion.
Further solidifying its commitment to AI, Oracle unveiled a $3 billion investment in Germany and the Netherlands to enhance cloud services and AI infrastructure globally.
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Ellison has also played a pivotal role in President Trump’s Stargate initiative, a $500 billion project designed to propel the U.S. to the forefront of AI development.
Oracle, alongside SoftBank, OpenAI, and MGX, are initial equity founders in this ambitious endeavor, with Oracle and OpenAI also serving as key technology partners.
In a notable development, Ellison announced his intention to amend his commitment to the Giving Pledge, a promise by many of the world’s wealthiest to donate the majority of their fortune to philanthropy. While reaffirming his dedication to humanitarian work, Ellison revealed the launch of the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) at the University of Oxford.
He stated that he believes “additional ways that I would like to invest my time and resources in giving back to the world we share,” and will concentrate his resources on EIT.
The institute aims to tackle global challenges through initiatives like developing life-saving drugs, combating world hunger with advanced agriculture, and creating clean energy solutions.
The AI boom isn’t just benefiting Ellison. Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, has also seen his net worth skyrocket to $149 billion, surpassing Warren Buffett’s $141 billion.
Huang’s fortune has increased by over $34 billion this year, driven by the strong demand for Nvidia’s advanced chips, even as the company recently received government permission to ship advanced chips to China.
Despite the significant investor interest in Oracle, some analysts remain cautious. Goldman Sachs, for instance, maintained a ‘neutral’ rating on Oracle following its financial results, citing concerns that Oracle’s substantial investments in the “low-margin and capital-intensive training cycle” of AI could potentially impact free cash flow generation in the long term.
