Musk Loses World’s Richest Crown to Ellison, Then Snatches It Back
Ellison's fortune rocketed to $383.2 billion after Oracle shares exploded upwards by more than a third. The 81-year-old tech
Elon Musk lost his crown as the world’s richest person on Wednesday when Oracle’s Larry Ellison knocked him off the top spot in a stunning market upset.
Ellison’s fortune rocketed to $383.2 billion after Oracle shares exploded upwards by more than a third. The 81-year-old tech mogul grabbed the world’s richest person title for several hours before Musk clawed his way back to the top by close of trading.
The two billionaires are now locked in a razor-thin battle, with just $1 billion separating them. Musk clings to the lead at $384.2 billion whilst Ellison sits at $383.2 billion.
Oracle’s Big Day
Oracle shares rocketed after the company reported brilliant earnings on Tuesday night. The tech firm announced it had signed deals worth more than $300 billion, including contracts with OpenAI, Meta, Nvidia and Musk’s own company xAI.
The 81-year-old Ellison saw his wealth rise by $89 billion in one day. This was the biggest single-day increase ever recorded, according to Bloomberg.
Oracle closed up 36% at $328.33 per share. The company jumped from being the 13th most valuable firm in America to the 10th, overtaking Walmart and JPMorgan Chase.
The surge came as investors bet big on artificial intelligence. Oracle provides the computer power that AI companies need to run their systems.
Tesla’s Problems
Whilst Ellison celebrated, Musk faced fresh troubles with Tesla. The electric car maker’s shares have dropped 14% this year, a sharp contrast to Oracle’s 97% gain.
Tesla sales in Europe fell 40% over the summer. This was the seventh month in a row of falling sales. Many blame Musk’s controversial posts on X (formerly Twitter) for putting off customers.
The world’s richest person has tried to get investors excited about Tesla’s robots and self-driving cars. But so far, this hasn’t worked. Car sales remain weak and the promised turnaround hasn’t happened.
The AI Gold Rush
Oracle’s success shows how the AI boom is creating new winners. The company expects its cloud business to grow 77% to $18 billion this year, then rise to $144 billion within four years.
“AI Changes Everything,” Ellison said on a call with investors. He believes Oracle will make money not just from building AI systems, but from running them day-to-day across different industries.
The two billionaires’ combined wealth of over $767 billion could pay for 5 million American families to live for a year without working.
The Battle Continues
Oracle’s stunning performance has impressed Wall Street. Bank of America and Citi both upgraded the stock to “buy” on Wednesday.
For Musk, keeping his crown as the world’s richest person depends on Tesla turning things around. His other companies include SpaceX and xAI, but Tesla remains his biggest source of wealth.
The battle shows how quickly fortunes can change in the tech world. As AI reshapes entire industries, new winners and losers are emerging every day.
Ellison has been close to President Trump and often appears at White House events. Oracle has won several government contracts under Trump’s administration. He owns 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai and helped revive the Indian Wells tennis tournament, earning it the “fifth slam” nickname.
For now, Musk keeps his title as the world’s richest person. But Wednesday’s events prove that even a billion-dollar lead can disappear in minutes when the stock market gets moving.
