Larry Ellison is now officially richer than Elon Musk. As of this week, he became the actual world’s richest man, based on the most recent data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. As of now, Ellison’s net worth stands at an impressive $393 billion (£290 billion), surpassing Musk’s wealth of $385 billion (£284 billion). Oracle, the company Ellison co-founded, recently signed a number of high-profile and lucrative contracts. This amazing change in fate comes on the heels of those settlements.
Ellison’s rise to the top of the wealth rankings has been largely attributed to Oracle’s recent success. In what became increasingly clear as the last quarter progressed, the tech giant won four new multibillion-dollar contracts with its biggest customers to dramatically raise its financial prospects. Oracle is counting on signing a lot more such big deals in the months ahead. Such prospects would greatly enrich Ellison, whose fortunes are tied inextricably to Oracle’s stock, his only source of long-term wealth.
By 81, Ellison has put more than five decades into amassing his wealth. His business savvy and smart moves contributed heavily to his rise to the top of the tech game today. Ellison participated in an unprecedented meeting—at the behest of grassroots organizers—in the Oval Office earlier this year. This deepened his status as a power broker in business and politics. He is famously known as an ally of the notorious former US President, Donald Trump. Indeed, among the other proposals floated by Trump was having Ellison buy TikTok, when he mused on Musk’s possible purchase of the platform.
Along with his accomplishments at Oracle, Ellison has led or invested in high-profile projects beyond his company’s products. He was just seen on stage with OpenAI’s Sam Altman and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son to announce a dramatic new initiative called Stargate. This unique partnership is indicative of Ellison’s ongoing commitment to work with emerging technology and innovation.
Additionally, Ellison has shown his dedication to putting families first. He underwrote his son’s successful $8 billion venture to acquire control of Paramount. This change represents his willingness to put his money where his mouth is and pursue investment opportunities outside of Oracle.
Though Ellison’s financial success is impressive, it is paired with ambitious proposals to end wealth-based disparities in compensation. He’s put forward a big pay package. If he meets some ambitious performance targets over the next ten years, it can go even higher than $1 trillion. This proposal has a very different connection to another Oracle employee.