Oracle’s founder and largest shareholder, Larry Ellison, saw his net worth jump by $14 billion to $152 billion overnight following the company’s positive year-end financial results.
Oracle’s shares surged by 13% on June 11, propelling Ellison up two spots on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, surpassing former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
Ellison’s financial leap driven by Oracle’s performance
Ellison, who owns more than 40% of Oracle, experienced a significant boost in his fortune due to the company’s robust performance and promising outlook.
In 2024 alone, Ellison’s net worth has grown by $29.1 billion, marking a record high. This growth is largely attributed to Oracle’s strategic focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and its expanding role in the tech industry.
Oracle’s CEO, Safra Catz, highlighted the impact of AI on the company’s growth during the latest earnings call.
Oracle signed the largest sales contracts in its history, driven by enormous demand for training AI large language models.
In the fourth quarter alone, Oracle secured over 30 AI sales contracts totaling more than $12.5 billion, including a notable contract with OpenAI to train ChatGPT in the Oracle Cloud.
AI demand fuels Oracle’s success
Catz expressed confidence in the continued strong AI demand, expecting it to push Oracle sales even higher throughout fiscal year 2025.
Additionally, Oracle is strengthening its partnerships with other tech giants, such as Microsoft and Google.
Ellison mentioned that Oracle recently signed an agreement with Google to interconnect their clouds, with the Oracle database expected to be available within the Google Cloud by September.
Surge in wealth among tech billionaires
Ellison’s significant increase in wealth reflects a broader trend among tech leaders who have also seen substantial growth in their fortunes this year due to the surge in AI-related demand.
Sergey Brin, who owns 41.8% of Alphabet’s Class B stocks, has benefited from the rise in Alphabet’s stock, which is up 28% year-to-date, driven by progress in AI developments like the Gemini project.
Similarly, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and co-founder Bill Gates have seen their wealth increase.
Microsoft’s shares experienced a notable rise following an earnings call in April, where CEO Satya Nadella emphasized the company’s powerful AI infrastructure and new AI deployments.
This resulted in the best single-day percentage hike for Microsoft shares since November 2022.
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has also experienced significant growth in his wealth, driven by a combination of his company’s “year of efficiency” and advancements in AI.
Since outlining his AI strategy in February, Zuckerberg’s wealth has grown from $63 billion to $181 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
AI’s influence on tech billionaires’ fortunes
The rise in Larry Ellison’s net worth underscores the growing influence of AI on the fortunes of tech billionaires.
As companies like Oracle, Microsoft, and Alphabet continue to leverage AI to drive growth and innovation, the wealth of their founders and key stakeholders is likely to see further increases.
The AI boom is reshaping the tech industry, creating new opportunities and challenges for businesses and investors alike.
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