• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
SuccessBillionaires

Oracle’s Larry Ellison just rocked the billionaires club—a $40 billion gain has made him the second-richest man, ahead of Bezos and Zuckerberg

Emma Burleigh
By
Emma Burleigh
Emma Burleigh
Reporter, Success
Down Arrow Button Icon
Emma Burleigh
By
Emma Burleigh
Emma Burleigh
Reporter, Success
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 18, 2025, 11:38 AM ET
Larry Ellison
The tech exec is now wealthier than Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, with a $250 billion fortune—but he’ll have a hard time dethroning his close friend Elon Musk.Phillip Faraone / Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.
  • Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison is now the second-richest person in the world, after his cloud-computing business’s stocks soared last week. The chairman’s net worth surged by more than $40 billion, outpacing the wealth of Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg and reaching a high of $250.9 billion. But he’ll have a hard time topping the riches of his close friend Elon Musk, who sits on a cool $405.8 billion fortune.

No one was in a better mood last week than Larry Ellison—the Oracle cofounder shot up Forbes’ billionaire rankings list, reaching the number two spot, right below his close friend Elon Musk.

Recommended Video

Ellison’s net worth now stands tall at $250.9 billion after Oracle’s recent earnings report triggered its shares to skyrocket. 

With approximately 41% of Oracle’s shares in his name, the cloud-computing mogul saw his net worth climb by over $40 billion in a matter of days. On Thursday last week, his fortune grew by $25 billion, and increased by another $16 billion on Friday: easily two of the largest daily swells in billionaire net worth that week, according to Forbes. 

Now Ellison has overtaken Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, who is currently worth $229 billion, and Mark Zuckerberg, who has a $240 billion net worth, in the billionaires club.

The one person he hasn’t topped yet is Elon Musk—Ellison’s close friend, who is still the world’s wealthiest man with $405 billion in riches. There’s nearly a $155 billion difference between their respective net worths, so Ellison has his work cut out for him if he ever hopes to reach number one. 

The Oracle stock frenzy that propelled Ellison to a $250 billion fortune

Last Wednesday, the afternoon earnings report was dubbed a “watershed” moment for the cloud-computing company. It was also a big moment for Ellison’s wallet. 

The report shows Oracle’s total revenue for the 2025 fiscal year rose by 8%, reaching a whopping $57.4 billion. The $1.70 adjusted earnings per share outperformed Wall Street’s expectations, alongside its unprecedented $15.9 billion in sales. One day after these figures were released, Oracle’s stock soared by 13%—and by midafternoon Friday, it rose another 7% to a record of $215 per share. 

Ellison, the chairman and CTO of Oracle, subsequently enjoyed an 11-figure surge in net worth. Last Tuesday afternoon, the day before the cloud-computing titan released its earnings report, Ellison’s net worth stood at $213 billion. 

While the 80-year-old entrepreneur may feel on top of the world right now, there’s no telling where he’ll be in 2026. Billionaires’ wealth fluctuates all the time—Bernard Arnault, founder and CEO of luxury fashion house LVMH, was the world’s richest person at the start of 2024 with $231 billion. Today, he’s in seventh place with a net worth of $142 billion, thanks to tumbling stocks.

However, TD Cowen analyst Derrick Wood said Oracle’s 2026 fiscal year, starting this month, will be a “major inflection point” for the business’ cloud infrastructure services, propelled by “massive demand for AI training workloads.” And Ellison himself sees the promise of what lies ahead. 

“Oracle’s future is bright in this new era of cloud computing. Oracle will be the number one cloud database company,” Ellison said in the business’ earnings call last Friday. “Oracle is already prospering in this new era of cloud computing and AI, and it’s just the beginning.”

Topping Zuckerberg and Bezos, but falling short of Musk—for now

Ellison sees the next year as a new frontier for Oracle, which could mean another big payout for the executive. But even if he takes the number one spot for the world’s richest person, Musk probably won’t have hard feelings—after all, they’re good friends. 

“I am not sure how many people know, but I’m very close friends with Elon Musk, and I’m a big investor in Tesla,” Ellison said during a 2018 conference call with analysts.

Ellison and Musk are two peas in a pod—both are wildly successful tech entrepreneurs with big personalities. The Oracle cofounder has repeatedly defended Musk, arguing against public backlash that he “doesn’t know what he’s doing,” saying he “loved” articles about the Tesla founder “smoking dope.”  

In 2018, Musk even appointed Ellison to his Tesla board, drawing scrutiny from critics who argued it’s harder to maintain objectivity with friends on corporate boards. 

The Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will convene Fortune 500 executives, U.S. policy officials, top founders, and thought leaders to help define what’s next for the American economy, Nov. 16-17 in Detroit. Apply here.
About the Author
Emma Burleigh
By Emma BurleighReporter, Success

Emma Burleigh is a reporter at Fortune, covering success, careers, entrepreneurship, and personal finance. Before joining the Success desk, she co-authored Fortune’s CHRO Daily newsletter, extensively covering the workplace and the future of jobs. Emma has also written for publications including the Observer and The China Project, publishing long-form stories on culture, entertainment, and geopolitics. She has a joint-master’s degree from New York University in Global Journalism and East Asian Studies.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Success

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Success

Now she’s worth $200 million. But Sarah Jessica Parker says being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ growing up created her work ethic
SuccessCareer Advice
Now she’s worth $200 million. But Sarah Jessica Parker says being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ growing up created her work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
3 hours ago
Tesla cofounder JB Straubel’s first pitch to Elon Musk failed. Then he turned his ‘hobby’ into a $1.3 trillion success
SuccessBrainstorm Tech
Tesla cofounder JB Straubel’s first pitch to Elon Musk failed. Then he turned his ‘hobby’ into a $1.3 trillion success
By Rachel VentrescaJune 24, 2026
3 hours ago
The hidden cost of your AI rollout: burning out the high performers running it
Workplace Cultureburnout
The hidden cost of your AI rollout: burning out the high performers running it
By Mikaela Cohen and HR BrewJune 23, 2026
13 hours ago
dr
HealthCancer
The U.S. cut cancer deaths by 34% since 1991—but not in 458 rural counties
By Arthur Cosby and The ConversationJune 23, 2026
16 hours ago
college
SuccessEducation
47% of Harvard seniors admit to cheating — and the problem existed long before ChatGPT
By Austin Sarat and The ConversationJune 23, 2026
16 hours ago
work
Workplace Culturework culture
Worker engagement just hit a decade low — and new data from 88 million employees shows why managers are the problem
By Bob Batchelor and The ConversationJune 23, 2026
17 hours ago

Most Popular

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
22 hours ago
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
Banking
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
By Jim EdwardsJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 23, 2026
22 hours ago
Meet the 2 men putting New York's $300 billion pension fund in play for the first time in 20 years
Investing
Meet the 2 men putting New York's $300 billion pension fund in play for the first time in 20 years
By Nick LichtenbergJune 22, 2026
2 days ago
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeJune 21, 2026
3 days ago
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
Real Estate
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
By Sydney LakeJune 22, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.