Larry Ellison is the founder of Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL | ORCL Price Prediction), where he still serves as board chair at 80. His company announced mediocre earnings, but he said cloud revenue, driven by AI, would reach $144 billion by its 2030 fiscal year. Although he could not provide much support for the comment, Oracle’s stock surged 28% to an all-time high. It took Ellison’s net worth up $70 billion to $364 billion, just shy of Elon Musk’s $384 billion. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock is down 14% so far this year. It would not take much bad Tesla news to close the wealth gap between the two men.
Ellison started Oracle in 1977. It is primarily a cloud computing and database company. He never graduated from college, and he is now 80 years old. Oracle’s growth has exploded. Ten years ago, its revenue was $38 billion. In 2024, it was $53 billion. It is also viewed as one of the top AI companies in the world.
Just discussing an artificial intelligence future for a tech company has helped lift stock prices. Nvidia Corp.’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) market capitalization surpassed $4 trillion recently. Its chips are considered the backbone of global AI development. It is the first company in history to top the $4 trillion mark.
Oracle’s stock is up over 60% this year after yesterday’s surge. That takes its market cap close to $785 billion and makes it the 15th most valuable company in the world. Ellison owns 40% of Oracle’s shares.
Ellison’s wealth has enabled him to enjoy activities that only the extraordinarily rich can afford. He has funded the U.S. boat in the America’s Cup. That could have cost him more than $200 million. He owns a 454-foot yacht called “The Rising Sun,” as well as 98% of Lanai, one of the Hawaiian islands. That cost him $300 million in 2012.
One more success at Oracle or stumble at Tesla could make Ellison the world’s richest person.
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