There is a new number two in the global billionaire rankings, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Surging past Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Ellison now trails only Elon Musk, as his net worth skyrocketed to an estimated $275.9 billion in July 2025.
This meteoric rise comes on the back of a powerful rally in Oracle’s stock, which soared 32% in June alone. Ellison, who holds nearly 41% of Oracle, gained more than $56 billion in just over a month, a testament to the booming demand for cloud computing and enterprise AI solutions. Oracle’s strong earnings and momentum in the tech sector have turned it into a key player in the AI arms race, with Ellison at the forefront.
Mark Zuckerberg now ranks third with $235.7 billion, followed by Jeff Bezos at $227 billion, whose fluctuating Amazon stock has seen him slip in and out of the top slots in the recent years. Elon Musk remains the world’s richest person, with an estimated $411.4 billion.
Larry Ellison co-founded Oracle Corp. in 1977, turning it from a three-person startup into a global software and cloud computing giant. Known for his bold vision and aggressive business tactics, Ellison built Oracle into the world’s largest database software provider and a formidable player in enterprise tech.
Born in New York City in 1944 to a single mother, Ellison was raised by his aunt and uncle on Chicago’s South Side. He dropped out of college twice before spending a decade coding for companies like Ampex and Amdahl. The breakthrough idea that launched Oracle came from an IBM research paper on relational databases, a concept Ellison turned into a business with just $2,000 and two partners, Bob Miner and Ed Oates.
Oracle’s early success was fuelled by a $50,000 CIA contract to develop a relational database management system, codenamed “Oracle”. That contract not only gave the company its name but also its first major customer. By 1979, Oracle had released the first commercial version of its SQL-based database system.
Ellison stepped down as CEO in 2014 but remains chairman and chief technology officer. Under his guidance, Oracle has aggressively expanded its cloud business, acquiring companies like Sun Microsystems and NetSuite, and now stands at the centre of the AI and cloud revolution. At 80 years old, Larry Ellison’s comeback as the second richest person in the world is more than just a tech success story.
Jefferies, a top brokerage firm, sees a bright future for the Indian aviation industry despite current obstacles. They have high hopes for IndiGo and GMR Airports, citing the growth of international travel and airport retail spending. However, challenges like aircraft shortages, fuel costs, and reliance on foreign facilities remain. The recent Air India crash has also raised concerns.
