Ellison overtakes Musk as Oracle soars on AI orders

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison wrested the title of the world’s richest man from longtime holder Elon Musk early Wednesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as stock in his software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading.

- Agencies

A college dropout, the 81-year-old Ellison is now worth $393 billion, Bloomberg says, several billion more than Musk, who had been the world’s richest for four years running. Stock in one of Musk’s biggest holdings, Tesla, has been moving in the opposite direction of Oracle's, dropping 14% so far this year as of Tuesday.

The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle powered by multibillion dollar orders from customers as the AI race heats up.

Another news organization with a long history of tallying the world’s richest, Forbes, still has Musk at the top, at $439 billion. Bloomberg put his net worth at $385 billion.