☁️ Larry Ellison: The World's New Richest Man?
On September 10, Oracle's stock surged more than 40% after reporting record cloud growth. The fortune of its co-founder, CTO, and chairman, Larry Ellison, jumped by $101 billion in a single day, reaching $393–395 billion.
According to Bloomberg, he is now the richest person on Earth, surpassing Elon Musk.
🖥 What Does Oracle Do?
Founded by Ellison in 1977, Oracle was long considered part of Silicon Valley's "old guard." Today, it stands at the center of the global AI boom.
Its data centers power OpenAI, Nvidia, and Microsoft. The order backlog has grown 4.6× in a year to a record $455 billion, while cloud revenue forecasts have leapt from $18 billion in 2026 to $144 billion by 2030.
🥋 Who Is Ellison?
At 80, Ellison is known not only as one of the oldest tech leaders but also as a figure with controversial views.
For example, he has openly advocated for total surveillance of both citizens and authorities using AI. In his words, "citizens will be on their best behavior because we are constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on."
He's also nicknamed the "Samurai of Silicon Valley," both for his love of Japanese aesthetics and for his devotion to samurai philosophy in life and business: win at any cost and never retreat.
Fun facts:
• Owns most of the Hawaiian island of Lanai, which he has turned into a "living laboratory."
• Was a close friend of Steve Jobs, who photographed Ellison's wedding.
• Served on Apple's board (1997–2002) and later joined Tesla's board in the 2010s.
Will Ellison hold on to the title of the world's richest man?
❤️ — Yes, he'll keep the crown
🔥 — No, Musk will reclaim it
