Musk, meet dust: Oracle’s Ellison becomes world’s richest person as AI boom lifts stock 40%

Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, has surpassed Elon Musk as the world’s richest person, with his wealth reaching $393 billion compared to Musk’s $385 billion. The shift comes after Oracle shares soared more than 40% following the company’s surprisingly optimistic outlook for its cloud infrastructure business and AI deals, while Tesla stock has declined amid investor concerns over the Trump administration’s EV policy changes.

What drove the change: Oracle’s stock surge directly boosted Ellison’s net worth, which is closely tied to the company he co-founded five decades ago.

• Oracle projected that revenue from its cloud business will jump 77% this year to $18 billion, with continued growth expected in coming years.
• The company reported surging demand from AI companies for its data centers and signed four multibillion-dollar contracts in the last quarter.
• CEO Safra Catz indicated several more major deals are anticipated in the months ahead.

Why Oracle is thriving: The database software company has capitalized on growing demand for data center infrastructure driven by the AI boom.

• Oracle’s cloud infrastructure business gave investors a “surprisingly rosy outlook” that exceeded expectations.
• The company has positioned itself as a key provider of the computing infrastructure that AI companies need to train and run their models.

Musk’s challenges: Tesla’s declining stock price has eroded the Tesla CEO’s wealth after he held the world’s richest person title for nearly one year.

• Tesla shares have fallen this year as investors worry about the Trump administration rolling back electric vehicle initiatives.
• Musk has also faced consumer backlash related to his political involvement, adding pressure to Tesla’s stock performance.

The big picture: This wealth ranking shift reflects broader market dynamics, with cloud infrastructure and AI-related businesses outperforming traditional tech sectors like electric vehicles in current market conditions.