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Elon Musk briefly lost his position as the world’s richest person to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison during Wednesday’s trading session, marking a dramatic shift at the top of the global wealth rankings.
The change came after Oracle’s stock soared 36% in New York, lifting its market valuation to about $933 billion following the release of its quarterly earnings report. The surge, Oracle’s best single-day performance since 1992, added $244 billion to its value.
According to reports, Ellison’s fortune jumped by $101 billion to $393 billion, while Musk’s net worth stood at $385 billion. The temporary wealth gap propelled Ellison to the summit of the global rich list, albeit briefly.
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The Oracle Earnings Catalyst
Photo credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The sudden shift in fortunes was sparked by Oracle’s fiscal first-quarter earnings report, which highlighted the company’s ambitious artificial intelligence (AI) strategy despite results that slightly missed expectations.
Oracle reported adjusted earnings of $1.47 per share, just below analysts’ estimates of $1.48, and revenue of $14.9 billion against a forecast of $15 billion. Yet what captured investors’ attention were Oracle’s bold projections for AI-driven cloud growth, with revenue targets of $32 billion, $73 billion, $114 billion and $144 billion over the next four years.
The optimism around AI triggered an immediate market reaction. As one Deutsche Bank analyst remarked during the earnings call, “We’re all kind of in shock, in a very good way,” after Oracle’s stock surged 28% in after-hours trading.
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A Brief Reign at the Top
Larry Ellison’s brief stint as the world’s richest man was fuelled by his 1.16 billion Oracle shares, which represent roughly 41% of the company’s outstanding stock. This direct tie to the firm’s performance enabled his wealth to temporarily eclipse Musk’s.
It was the first time Ellison claimed the top spot, ending Elon Musk’s nearly year-long run at the head of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. However, as markets stabilised, Musk quickly regained his lead.
The Volatility of Wealth Rankings
The fleeting switch at the top underscores the volatility of billionaire fortunes in a market dominated by technology stocks and AI enthusiasm. Both Musk and Ellison’s wealth remains deeply linked to the performance of their companies—Tesla for Musk and Oracle for Ellison—leaving their rankings vulnerable to sharp fluctuations.
The episode highlights how the fortunes of the world’s wealthiest are increasingly driven by investor sentiment around emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. Oracle’s record-breaking rally was fuelled by confidence in its AI cloud infrastructure strategy, while Musk’s net worth continues to be influenced by Tesla’s electric vehicle performance and his other ventures.
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As trading continues, the battle for the title of world’s richest person remains highly fluid, with both men’s fortunes closely tied to the unpredictable dynamics of global technology markets.