Larry Ellison briefly becomes world’s richest person: Who is Larry Ellison?

By Moiz Mustafa

September 12 (DailyMirror) - For a short period on September 10th, 2025, Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle Corporation, overtook Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person. A historic surge in Oracle’s stock propelled Ellison’s fortune past the $390 billion mark, underscoring not only the volatility of global wealth rankings but also the enduring influence of one of Silicon Valley’s most powerful figures.

Larry Ellison was born in New York City in 1944 and raised in a modest household in Chicago by his aunt and uncle. He left both the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago without a degree before moving to California in the late 1960s.

In 1977, with just $2,000, Ellison co-founded Software Development Laboratories (SDL), which later became Oracle Corporation. Inspired by a U.S. government database project called “Oracle,” the company pioneered relational database technology, forever changing how businesses store and analyze data.

Under Ellison’s leadership, Oracle grew into a global leader in enterprise software and one of the most important companies in cloud computing. The firm now competes head-to-head with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, powering much of the modern digital economy.

Ellison’s immense fortune stems largely from his 40% stake in Oracle, worth hundreds of billions of dollars. In September 2025, Oracle’s stock jumped more than 36% in a single day, adding over $100 billion to Ellison’s net worth—the largest one-day wealth increase ever recorded.

Beyond business, Ellison is famous for his taste in luxury. He is an avid sailor who helped secure the America’s Cup in 2010 with his racing team. In 2012, he purchased 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lānaʻi for around $300 million, transforming it into a hub for sustainable agriculture and high-end tourism.

His vast real estate portfolio includes some of the most valuable properties in California, often designed with Japanese architectural influences.

Ellison has also committed to philanthropy, signing The Giving Pledge, through which many of the world’s billionaires have promised to give away the majority of their fortunes. His charitable interests include medical research, education, and sustainability projects.

Today, Ellison serves as Executive Chairman and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Oracle, guiding the company’s strategy in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure. His rise to the top of the global wealth rankings—even if temporary—highlights his ongoing relevance in both business and technology.

At nearly 81 years old, Ellison remains not just a symbol of tech wealth, but also a reminder of how bold ideas and relentless drive can reshape entire industries.

For Sri Lanka, Ellison’s story offers both perspective and inspiration. His fortune—briefly valued at nearly four times the size of Sri Lanka’s GDP—illustrates the immense scale of wealth that global technology leaders can generate.

Yet beyond the numbers, Oracle’s software is already embedded in Sri Lanka’s banking, telecom, and government sectors, powering critical services that millions rely on daily. As the island nation works to grow its own IT industry and position itself as a regional hub for software exports and digital innovation, Ellison’s journey from humble beginnings to tech titan serves as a reminder that transformative ideas can come from anywhere—even from small markets with big ambition.