There's a new second-richest person in the world

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Oracle co-founder, CTO and Executive Chairman Larry Ellison speaks during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The second richest person on Earth is no longer Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg: According to Bloomberg, Oracle co-founder and chief technology officer Larry Ellison has topped Zuckerberg for the No. 2 spot.

Ellison, 80, has been a billionaire since 1993, with 80% of his wealth made up of Oracle stock and options, Bloomberg reports.

How much is Larry Ellison worth?

By the numbers:

In June, Ellison added $26 billion to his net worth with his increase in Oracle shares. That brings his net worth to a whopping $251 billion, an increase of $59 billion over last year.

According to FOX Business, Oracle's shares rose 5.7% this week after news that the U.S. will allow chipmakers Nvidia and Advanced Mico Devices Inc. to export some semiconductors to China.

Dig deeper:

Oracle’s stock has surged as investments in artificial intelligence increase: Ellison was at President Donald Trump’s side in January when he announced a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank, investing up to $500 billion for AI infrastructure.

Who is Larry Ellison?

The backstory:

Ellison started Oracle in 1977 and served as CEO until 2014. He lives in Hawaii and owns an entire island, according to Business Insider. Ellison heavily invested in Tesla and Salesforce, and reportedly served on Apple’s board of directors at one point.

He dropped out of college and moved to Berkeley, California, in 1966 at 22 years old, as the tech industry was taking off in nearby Silicon Valley. In 1977, Ellison and partners Bob Miner and Ed Oates founded Software Development Laboratories with $2,000 in funding. That company would become Oracle a few years later.

The billionaire enjoys expensive hobbies, including yacht-racing and collecting watches. His son, David Ellison, is slated to become the CEO of Paramount after its merger with Skydance Media.

Ellison signed a giving pledge in 2010, promising to donate 95% of his fortune before he dies. In 2016, he donated $200 million to a cancer treatment center at the University of Southern California, according to Forbes.