In a dramatic turn of events on the global billionaire leaderboard, Oracle co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison briefly overtook Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as the world’s richest person this week, marking a seismic shift driven by surging tech stocks, the AI boom, and high-stakes corporate maneuvering. The rapid ascent and equally swift reversal of fortunes for these titans of industry has captivated not only Wall Street but also the world’s crypto and prediction market traders, who have been feverishly betting on who will hold the coveted top spot.
According to multiple reports, including Bloomberg and TIME, Ellison’s net worth soared to nearly $400 billion on September 10, 2025, after Oracle shares skyrocketed by as much as 41% within a single day. This historic rally was fueled by Oracle’s announcement of four multi-billion-dollar contracts during its fiscal first quarter, quadrupling its bookings over the previous year. The company’s bullish growth forecast, particularly its hundreds of billions in inbound revenue from AI companies relying on Oracle’s cloud computing infrastructure, sent investors into a buying frenzy. As a result, Ellison’s net worth jumped by a staggering $101 billion in just one day, a record-setting windfall that briefly placed him ahead of Musk, whose fortune at the time was estimated at $385 billion.
“The biggest beneficiaries are the companies lower in the stack, including chipmakers like NVIDIA—and Oracle, which owns and operates data centers which provide cloud infrastructure to other AI companies,” TIME explained, highlighting the current stage of the artificial intelligence gold rush. Oracle’s ability to solve logistical and operational challenges for AI firms, and its willingness to undercut competitors on price, has made it an attractive partner for industry heavyweights like OpenAI and xAI. The announcement of these blockbuster deals, combined with the AI sector’s insatiable appetite for computing power, catapulted Oracle’s valuation and Ellison’s personal fortune to unprecedented heights.
Yet, as quickly as Ellison seized the crown, the rankings proved volatile. Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index showed Ellison’s net worth at $393 billion as of September 11, 2025, just $1 billion shy of Musk’s $384 billion. The razor-thin margin and rapid fluctuations meant that, for some observers refreshing their browsers, Ellison appeared at the top spot—even if only for a fleeting moment. According to Protos, “A rounding error could have easily displaced Musk from the top slot. Indeed, if someone was refreshing their browser consistently, it’s possible that the webpage displayed Ellison in the #1 spot at some point yesterday.”
Prediction markets, always eager to capitalize on uncertainty, saw a frenzy of activity. On Polymarket, a blockchain-based betting platform, the odds of Musk losing his title as the world’s richest person shot up to 96% before settling back to 64% by September 12. Kalshi, a US-based competitor that uses Forbes estimates, saw similar volatility, with odds dropping from 91% to 64% within 36 hours. The terms of Polymarket’s contract were explicit: “This market will resolve to Yes if Elon Musk is any rank other than #1 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index at any point between June 30, and December 31, 2025, 11:59 PM ET.”
Ellison’s spectacular gains in 2025 stand in stark contrast to Musk’s recent setbacks. Year to date, Bloomberg estimates show that Ellison has gained $191 billion while Musk has lost $48.2 billion. Oracle’s stock rally, which added $238 billion to its market capitalization in just three trading days, was the main driver behind Ellison’s meteoric rise. As Oracle’s largest shareholder, Ellison’s 40-41% equity stake meant that every surge in Oracle’s share price translated directly into massive increases in his net worth. This ownership stake is the result of years of aggressive stock buybacks, a strategy that has drawn both praise and criticism. As TIME noted, “Ellison owns a 41% stake in Oracle, nearly double what he owned fifteen years ago. That’s because in the last decade, he and Oracle have embarked on one of the biggest stock buyback programs in corporate history.” While buybacks can boost share prices and benefit major shareholders, detractors like Senator Chuck Schumer have called them “one of the most self-serving things that corporate America does.”
Meanwhile, Musk’s fortunes have been battered by a slump in Tesla’s share price, which fell from a December 2024 high of $488 per share to $368 by September 12, 2025. Tesla’s vehicle sales have also been declining, further eroding investor confidence. However, Musk remains firmly in the spotlight, thanks in part to a jaw-dropping $1 trillion executive compensation package proposed by Tesla’s board on September 5, 2025—the largest in corporate history by a wide margin. If approved, this pay package could restore Musk’s lead in the wealth rankings and ensure his dominance for years to come.
Despite the volatility, neither Polymarket nor Kalshi’s prediction markets directly reflect the real-world odds of who will end the year as the world’s richest person. As Protos cautioned, “These exchanges simply facilitate bets from traders who are speculating on binary options. Although these platforms involve a data oracle for real world input, traders may pay whatever price they want—whether or not the odds rate has anything to do with the actual likelihood of the event occurring.”
Ellison’s ascent is also notable for his connections within the tech and political elite. He has maintained strong relationships with figures like Donald Trump—hosting fundraisers and partnering on ambitious AI infrastructure projects—and with Musk himself, having pledged significant support during Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter. These alliances, coupled with Oracle’s strategic positioning in the AI supply chain, have amplified Ellison’s influence in both business and politics.
It’s worth noting that Oracle’s fundamentals are not without challenges. The company missed analysts’ revenue expectations and is projected to face three more years of negative cash flow. Recent layoffs have also cast a shadow over its rapid expansion. Still, in the current AI-driven market, the promise of future revenue and the potential for transformative deals appear to outweigh short-term concerns.
For now, the title of the world’s richest person remains a moving target, buffeted by the winds of market speculation, corporate announcements, and the relentless pace of technological change. As Ellison and Musk continue to trade places atop the leaderboard, one thing is certain: the era of the tech billionaire is far from over, and the race for the crown is more unpredictable—and fascinating—than ever.
In the end, the financial tug-of-war between Ellison and Musk offers a window into the volatile, high-stakes world of modern tech capitalism, where fortunes can shift in a matter of hours and tomorrow’s leader is never guaranteed.
