The battle for the crown of the world’s richest person has taken another dramatic turn. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and social media platform X (formerly Twitter), has once again secured the top spot after briefly losing it to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison earlier this week.

Ellison’s net worth skyrocketed following a record-breaking surge in Oracle Corp’s stock, driven by booming demand for AI infrastructure services and blockbuster earnings. For a brief window of time, Ellison managed to dethrone Musk, who has held the position for most of the past 300 days. However, by the end of the trading day, fluctuations in stock prices shifted the balance once again, allowing Musk to reclaim his crown.

Oracle’s Stunning Rally: How Larry Ellison Became the World’s Richest Man

On Wednesday, Oracle’s stock surged as much as 43%, before closing the day with a 36% gain at $328.33 per share—its biggest single-day jump since 1992. This surge elevated Oracle’s market value by nearly $244 billion, pushing the company’s valuation to about $922 billion. Oracle also climbed in the S&P 500 rankings, leaping from the 13th-most valuable company to 10th place, surpassing giants such as Eli Lilly, Walmart, and JPMorgan Chase.

The rally was fueled by Oracle’s quarterly earnings report, which unveiled more than $300 billion in new deals. These included major partnerships with OpenAI, Meta, Nvidia, and Musk’s own xAI, showcasing Oracle’s dominant role in powering the next generation of AI-driven technologies.

Larry Ellison’s Wealth Surge

Larry Ellison, who owns about 40% of Oracle, saw his fortune soar by as much as $101 billion in a single day, according to Bloomberg. This historic leap marked the largest one-day wealth increase ever recorded on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

By midday, Ellison’s net worth had surged to $383.2 billion, putting him ahead of Elon Musk. However, as Oracle’s shares settled lower from their intraday peak, Musk managed to inch back into the lead by a razor-thin margin.

Elon Musk’s Counterpunch: Regaining the Top Spot

While Oracle was enjoying its historic rally, Tesla stock remained relatively flat, closing at $347.79, a less than 1% increase. Despite Tesla’s struggles, Musk’s wealth—primarily tied to his Tesla stake along with his ownership of SpaceX, xAI, and X—was enough to tip him back into the number one position by day’s end.

At the close of trading, Musk’s net worth stood at $384.2 billion, just $1 billion more than Ellison’s $383.2 billion. This razor-thin gap underscored just how volatile the race for the world’s richest crown has become, driven almost entirely by the unpredictable swings of the stock market.

Musk first became the world’s richest person in 2021, but he has been overtaken at times by LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Earlier this year, Jeff Bezos briefly claimed the top spot before Musk regained it.

The Scale of Their Wealth: Staggering Comparisons

The fortunes of Musk and Ellison are so vast that they defy imagination. According to the Associated Press, each billionaire’s net worth is large enough to:

• Support the lifestyles of five million average American households for a full year—a population equivalent to the entire state of Florida.

• Fund a year-long vacation for every citizen of South Africa, while still maintaining the country’s economic stability based on its GDP.

These comparisons highlight just how disproportionate billionaire wealth has become compared to global income distribution.

Oracle’s AI Bet: “AI Changes Everything”

Larry Ellison is betting big on the AI boom. During Oracle’s earnings call, the 81-year-old emphasized that the company’s growth will not be limited to powering data centers for chatbots. Oracle’s cloud infrastructure is positioned to support a wide range of industries through AI applications, including:

• Running factory robots

• Assisting in drug discovery and pharmaceutical research

• Making financial market predictions

• Automating legal and sales operations

Ellison’s confidence was summed up in his bold statement: “AI changes everything.”

Oracle projects that its cloud infrastructure revenue will grow 77% this fiscal year to $18 billion, with expectations to hit $144 billion within the next four years. Such forecasts explain why investors poured into Oracle stock, propelling Ellison into the global wealth spotlight.

Musk’s Challenges: Tesla Under Pressure

While Ellison’s rise reflects investor enthusiasm, Musk’s empire faces headwinds. Tesla’s stock has dropped 14% so far this year, driven by declining electric vehicle sales.

• In Europe, Tesla sales fell 40% earlier this summer, marking the seventh straight month of decline.

• In the U.S., Tesla’s market share has also been slipping, partly due to Musk’s public political endorsements, including his backing of Donald Trump.

To counter these challenges, Musk has been urging investors to look beyond EVs, pointing to Tesla’s long-term ambitions in AI-powered robotics, autonomous driving, and robotaxis. However, convincing markets of this vision has proven difficult as immediate sales figures continue to falter.

Billionaire Rivalry: A Snapshot in Time

The Musk-Ellison rivalry underscores the volatility of billionaire rankings, where fortunes can shift dramatically in a matter of hours. On Wednesday, Ellison temporarily wore the crown of the world’s richest man, fueled by Oracle’s historic rally, only for Musk to regain it by the day’s end.

As of now:

• Elon Musk’s net worth: $384.2 billion

• Larry Ellison’s net worth: $383.2 billion

While Musk has reclaimed the top spot, the margin is so thin that another Oracle rally—or a Tesla slump—could flip the leaderboard again.

The Ever-Changing Billionaire Leaderboard

The global wealth leaderboard is becoming increasingly volatile, reflecting both the transformative power of AI and the uncertainties of the electric vehicle market. Larry Ellison’s brief ascension showcased how quickly fortunes can rise, while Elon Musk’s comeback demonstrated the resilience of his vast empire.

One thing is clear: the competition between Musk and Ellison is far from over. With AI reshaping industries and Tesla striving to rebound, the battle for the world’s richest person is likely to see many more twists and turns in the months ahead.

With inputs from agencies

Image Source: Multiple agencies

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved. Powered by Vygr Media.