Elon Musk has lost his spot as the world's richest person—at least for a short time.
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison briefly took the top spot on Wednesday after Oracle's stock soared following a strong earnings report, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.
Ellison's wealth jumped by $89 billion in one day, bringing his total net worth to $393 billion, CBS News said.
For a few hours, that was several billion more than Musk, whose estimated net worth dipped to $384 billion.
This change was driven by a 36% jump in Oracle's stock, the company's largest single-day gain since 1992.
The massive increase came after Oracle announced it had signed four multibillion-dollar contracts tied to the booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technology. These deals boosted confidence in Oracle as a major provider of the data centers and infrastructure needed to run AI systems.
"We'll be talking about this one for a long time," said Ben Reitzes, an analyst at Melius Research, describing the size of Oracle's current AI-related backlog as "staggering."
Elon Musk has lost his title of “world’s richest person” title to Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison.
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) September 10, 2025
Ellison’s wealth jumped by $101 billion to $393 billion after Oracle’s stunningly strong earnings report Tuesday evening, surpassing Musk’s net worth of $385 billion#3NewsGH pic.twitter.com/2RFHdXSJsj
Larry Ellison Gains $101B in a Day, Briefly Becomes World's Richest
Ellison is Oracle's largest individual shareholder, so when the stock surged, so did his net worth.
His one-day increase of $101 billion, later settling at $89 billion, is the largest ever recorded in a single day, Bloomberg reports.
According to CNN, Oracle's market value also jumped by $244 billion, pushing it into the top 10 most valuable companies in the S&P 500. It now ranks higher than big names like Walmart, JPMorgan Chase, and Eli Lilly.
Meanwhile, Tesla's stock has fallen about 14% this year, which has pulled down Musk's wealth.
Although he regained the top spot later on Wednesday, the brief switch shows how quickly fortunes can change in today's tech-driven economy.
Musk first became the world's richest person in 2021, thanks to Tesla and SpaceX. Over the years, he's lost the title briefly—to LVMH's Bernard Arnault and Amazon's Jeff Bezos—but usually reclaimed it quickly.
Larry Ellison, now 81 years old, helped start Oracle in 1977 after dropping out of college.
Today, he owns most of the Hawaiian island of Lana'i and has been a longtime figure in both tech and politics. His company's rise in the AI space shows he's still a major force in the tech world.
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