Tech billionaire Larry Ellison’s fortune experienced a significant boost on Tuesday as shares of his cloud computing firm Oracle soared to an all-time high. This surge in stock value propelled Ellison to the third spot on Forbes’ billionaires list, surpassing the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Bernard Arnault. By midday Tuesday, Ellison had gained about $18 billion, increasing his net worth from $173.3 billion to $191.7 billion, thanks to the rise in value of his 40% stake in Oracle.
At 80 years old, Ellison now sits behind only Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos as one of the wealthiest individuals in the world. It was a positive day for all Oracle shareholders as the stock price surged by as much as 14.7% to reach $160.50 per share, surpassing the previous all-time high set in July. The spike in Oracle’s stock value followed the release of the company’s quarterly earnings report, which exceeded consensus analyst estimates for both revenue and profits. Analyst Mark Moerdler described the report as bringing “all good news for Oracle.”
In a surprising turn of events, Oracle’s market capitalization rose from $386 billion to around $435 billion, causing the company to surpass Costco, Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble to become the 17th largest American public company. Oracle also revealed a new partnership with Amazon Web Services, allowing AWS customers to utilize Oracle’s artificial intelligence applications within the Amazon cloud. This deal marks Oracle’s completion of its “triple crown” of partnerships with cloud computing giants, following previous collaborations with Google and Microsoft. Ellison, as the chairman and head of technology at Oracle, founded the business software firm in 1977 and has been an active figure in the tech industry.
Known for his outspoken nature, Ellison previously served on Tesla’s board of directors and is set to become the controlling shareholder of CBS parent Paramount. A major donor to Republican causes, Ellison has been a significant supporter of Sen. Tim Scott as the GOP presidential nominee, contributing millions to back his candidacy. With a strong presence in the tech industry and a growing net worth, Ellison’s success with Oracle continues to solidify his position among the world’s wealthiest individuals.
