Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison has taken the title of the world’s wealthiest individual from longtime holder Elon Musk.
On Wednesday, as shares in Ellison’s software company surged over a third in an astonishing few minutes of trading, Ellison’s net worth overtook that of the Tesla CEO, as reported by wealth tracker Bloomberg. At 3pm in New York (19:00 GMT), Oracle shares have risen 34.4 percent for the day.
Ellison, 81, currently has a net worth of $393 billion, as reported by Bloomberg. That is several billion more than Musk, who had been the richest person globally for four consecutive years. Shares in one of Musk’s largest investments, Tesla, have been trending downward compared to Oracle’s, falling 14 percent this year as of Tuesday.
The change in the ranking followed a standout earnings report from Oracle, driven by multibillion-dollar contracts from clients as the AI competition intensifies.
Ellison’s wealth primarily comes from his 41 percent ownership in Oracle.
Another media outlet with a rich history of counting the wealthiest individuals globally, Forbes, continues to rank Musk as the richest, valued at $439 billion. Bloomberg estimated his net worth at $385 billion. The distinction lies in the methods each uses to assess the worth of Musk’s rocket firm SpaceX, along with other private assets.
Tesla shareholders have proposed a $1 trillion compensation deal for Musk.
With Ellison’s growing wealth on Wednesday, he could support the living expenses of five million US families for a year, roughly the entire population of Florida, enabling them all to leave their jobs, based on the US median household income.
