Ellison’s wealth skyrocketed by $89 billion in a single day, lifting his total net worth to $383.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The leap marked the largest one-day increase in wealth ever recorded, propelling the 81-year-old ahead of Musk for much of the day. However, the Tesla boss edged back into first place by about $1 billion before markets closed.
The gains came after Oracle shares soared 36%, their biggest single-day jump since 1992. The rally followed the company’s stronger-than-expected quarterly results and an optimistic outlook for its cloud infrastructure business, buoyed by major deals with OpenAI and Nvidia.
Oracle’s surge not only boosted Ellison’s fortune but also added $97 million to the net worth of the company’s CEO, Safra Catz. Shares of Oracle had already risen 45% earlier in the year, amplifying the impact of Wednesday’s rally.
By contrast, Tesla stock has slumped 14% in 2025, dampening Musk’s wealth despite a proposed multibillion-dollar compensation package. The package, if approved and achieved, could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire.
Ellison, who co-founded Oracle in 1977 and now serves as chairman and chief technology officer, holds the majority of his wealth in Oracle stock. His meteoric rise underscores the growing dominance of cloud computing in global markets, a sector increasingly linked to artificial intelligence growth.
Musk, who first claimed the top spot as the world’s richest man in 2021, has since traded places with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and LVMH’s Bernard Arnault, but regained the crown last year and has held it for over 300 days.
The Ellison-Musk rivalry highlights the volatile nature of wealth rankings, where fortunes can shift dramatically on the strength of stock market performance and corporate outlooks.
