Billionaire Battle for the Richest Title Heats Up

Larry Ellison Surges Ahead Briefly

The battle among billionaires for the title of the world’s richest person heated up Wednesday. An unexpected contender, Larry Ellison, surged ahead.

Minutes after markets opened, Oracle Corp.’s stock jumped over 30%. This boost temporarily put Ellison ahead of Elon Musk. Ellison, the software giant’s co-founder, briefly claimed the top spot.

Elon Musk Regains Lead by Day’s End

However, the stock market remained volatile. By the end of the day, Musk reclaimed the title. Oracle gave up some of its earlier gains.

Currently, the difference between their net worths is just about one billion dollars. Musk stands at $384.2 billion, while Ellison holds $383.2 billion.

The Scale of Their Fortunes

Their combined wealth is staggering. Each billionaire could support the lifestyles of five million average American families for a year. That is roughly equal to Florida’s entire population. Alternatively, their fortunes could pay for all of South Africa’s annual economic output.

Oracle’s Earnings Boost Ellison’s Wealth

The brief ranking change followed Oracle’s blockbuster earnings report. The company secured multibillion-dollar orders amid the growing artificial intelligence (AI) race.

Ellison owns about 40% of Oracle. The stock surge added around $100 billion to his net worth in just over 30 minutes.

Oracle’s AI Ambitions

The night before, Oracle announced over $300 billion in new deals. These include contracts with OpenAI, Meta, Nvidia, and Musk’s AI company, xAI. The company projects cloud infrastructure revenue to jump 77% this fiscal year, reaching $18 billion. It expects to hit $144 billion in four years.

Ellison explained on an earnings call that Oracle will profit not only from building AI systems but also from operating them. The AI will power robots in factories, design drugs, make financial bets, and automate legal and sales tasks.

In his words, “AI changes everything.”

Musk’s Challenges with Tesla

Musk became the world’s richest person for the first time four years ago. Much of his wealth depends on Tesla, the electric car maker.

However, Tesla’s stock has fallen 14% this year. Musk also leads private companies like SpaceX, xAI, and X (formerly Twitter).

Tesla promised a sales turnaround after a sharp drop earlier this year. But that recovery has not materialized. Musk has shifted investor focus to Tesla’s robotics and AI technology.

Despite his optimism, the company continues to face setbacks. Tesla’s sales in the European Union dropped 40% this summer, marking seven months of consecutive declines.

Impact of Musk’s Political Support

Some customers have avoided Tesla because of Musk’s public support for extreme right-wing politicians on X. This backlash also caused Tesla to lose market share in the U.S.

Market Closing Prices

Oracle’s stock closed Wednesday at $328.33, up 36%. Tesla’s stock rose less than 1%, closing at $347.79.