On September 10, local time, 81-year-old Larry Ellison, possibly the most successful person in the world, officially became the new richest person in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His wealth surged by over $100 billion in a single day, replacing Elon Musk, who had long held the title.
As the co-founder and largest individual shareholder of Oracle, Ellison's net worth reached as high as $393 billion that day, while Musk, who was dethroned, was "left with" $385 billion.
From dropping out of college and being broke to experiencing five marriages and amassing a fortune, what makes this 81-year-old man more audacious as he ages?
From Abandoned Orphan to Silicon Valley Tycoon
Larry Ellison was born in 1944 in the Bronx, New York, to a 19-year-old unmarried woman. Unable to care for him, he was sent to Chicago to be raised by his aunt's family when he was nine months old. His adoptive father was an ordinary government employee, and the family struggled financially.
Although he later enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he dropped out in his sophomore year after his adoptive mother passed away. Ellison then attended the University of Chicago but left after just one semester.
After leaving school, Ellison moved around the United States for several years. He did some freelance programming work in Chicago before driving to Berkeley, California, a center of counterculture and emerging technology. For him, "the people there seemed freer and smarter."
What truly changed his fate was his job at Ampex Corporation in the early 1970s. This technology company focused on audio-video storage and data processing, where he worked as a programmer. It was at Ampex that he participated in a key project: designing a database system for the CIA that could efficiently manage and query data, codenamed "Oracle."
In 1977, at the age of 32, Ellison, along with two former colleagues Bob Miner and Ed Oates, invested $2,000 (with Ellison contributing $1,200) to establish Software Development Laboratories (SDL).
Their first major decision was to develop a general commercial database system based on their previous experience with the CIA and relational data models, directly naming it "Oracle."
In 1986, Oracle went public on NASDAQ, becoming a rising star in the enterprise software market.
Strictly speaking, Ellison was not the "inventor" of database technology, but he was one of the first to recognize its commercial value and dared to go all in with his entire fortune to carve out a market.
Ellison's personality is rebellious and competitive; he has held nearly every executive position in the company.
From 1978 to 1996, he served as president; from 1990 to 1992, he first took on the role of chairman. In 1992, he nearly lost his life in a surfing accident, but this near-death experience did not deter him.
In 1995, he returned to the company and continued to lead for a full decade. In 2014, he stepped down as CEO, handing the position to a long-time subordinate, but he still remains the executive chairman of the board and chief technology officer to this day.
Over the past forty years, Oracle has experienced both glory and lows. It was once the ruler of the database market and appeared sluggish at the onset of the cloud computing wave. However, regardless of its ups and downs, Oracle has played a key role in the enterprise software sector, and Ellison has always been the soul of the company.
Wealth Surge: The "Delayed Victory" Brought by AI
On September 10, 2025, Oracle announced that the company had signed four contracts in the latest quarter, totaling several hundred billion dollars, including a $300 billion, five-year partnership with OpenAI.
After the news broke, the stock price soared over 40% in a single day, marking the largest single-day increase since 1992.
Although Oracle lagged behind Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure in the early cloud computing competition, it still occupies a unique position due to its database advantages and deep engagement with enterprise customers.
In the summer of 2025, the company announced a new round of layoffs, affecting thousands of employees, primarily in hardware sales and traditional software departments. At the same time, Oracle increased its investment in data centers and AI infrastructure, becoming one of the core suppliers amid the explosion of generative AI.
The market's demand for AI infrastructure is fervent, and Oracle happens to hold this delayed ticket, leading to industry evaluations that Oracle has transformed from an "old software vendor" to a "dark horse in AI infrastructure."
Family and Politics
Ellison's wealth has long transcended personal legend, expanding into a vast family empire.
His son, David Ellison, recently acquired CBS and MTV's parent company Paramount Global for $8 billion, with $6 billion coming from the Ellison family's financial support. This deal marks the Ellison family's reach into Hollywood. The father is in Silicon Valley, while the son is in the film and television industry, together building a wealth empire that spans technology and media.
On the political stage, Ellison frequently makes appearances. He has long supported the Republican Party and is a well-known political donor.
In 2015, he funded Marco Rubio's presidential campaign; in 2022, he donated $15 million to South Carolina Senator Tim Scott's super PAC. In January of this year, he appeared at the White House alongside SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to announce the construction of a $500 billion AI data center network. Oracle's technology will be at the core of this initiative, which is not only a business layout but also an extension of power.
"Prodigal" Lifestyle: Love for the Outdoors, Discipline, and Marriage
Luxury and discipline, adventure and passion—these contradictory traits coexist in Ellison.
He owns 98% of the land on the Hawaiian island of Lanai, several mansions in California, and a world-class yacht.
He has an almost instinctive obsession with water and wind. In 1992, he narrowly escaped death while surfing but still could not give up the thrill. Later, he devoted more energy to sailing.
In 2013, the Oracle Team USA he supported staged a comeback in the America's Cup, ultimately winning the trophy, which is considered one of the most classic comebacks in sailing history.
In 2018, he founded the SailGP high-speed catamaran racing league, which has since attracted investors including actress Anne Hathaway and soccer star Mbappé.
Tennis is another of his great passions. He revitalized the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament in California, making it known as the "fifth Grand Slam."
Sports are not just his hobby; they are also considered a secret to his youthful appearance.
In a 2018 Quora discussion, a former executive at one of Ellison's startups mentioned that Ellison spent hours exercising daily in the 1990s and 2000s. He rarely drinks sugary beverages, only water and green tea, and strictly controls his diet. This discipline allows the 81-year-old to remain vibrant, even being described as "twenty years younger than his peers."
In terms of personal relationships, Ellison has had four marriages and numerous romances.
In 2024, he quietly married Chinese-American Jolin Zhu, who is 47 years younger than him. The news came from a document from the University of Michigan, which mentioned "Larry Ellison and his wife Jolin's" donation. This marriage has once again made his private life a topic of public interest. According to the South China Morning Post, Jolin Zhu was born in Shenyang, China, and graduated from the University of Michigan.
Some netizens jokingly remarked that Ellison loves surfing and loves dating. For him, the thrill of the waves and the romance of relationships seem equally alluring.
Charity and the Future
In 2010, Ellison signed the "Giving Pledge," committing to donate at least 95% of his wealth. However, unlike Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, he rarely participates in collective activities. A New York Times interview indicated that he "values his solitude and does not wish to be influenced by external ideas."
In 2016, he donated $200 million to the University of Southern California to establish a cancer research center. Recently, he announced that he would direct part of his wealth towards the Ellison Institute of Technology, established in collaboration with the University of Oxford, to research medical, food, and climate issues. He wrote on social media: "We aim to design a new generation of life-saving drugs, build low-cost agricultural systems, and develop efficient clean energy."
Ellison's charitable approach is highly personal; he is not keen on standing alongside his peers but prefers to independently design a future that aligns with his vision.
Conclusion
In his 81st year, Larry Ellison has finally reached the pinnacle of being the world's richest person.
Starting from a contract with the CIA, he built a global database empire and skillfully positioned himself amid the AI wave, completing a "delayed comeback." Wealth, power, marriage, sports, and charity—his life is never short of topics and has never strayed far from the center of the storm.
He is the old "prodigal" of Silicon Valley, stubborn, combative, and uncompromising. The throne of the world's richest person may soon change hands again, but at least at this moment, Ellison has proven to the world that in an era where AI reshapes everything, the legend of the old generation of tech tycoons is far from over.
Author: Seedco
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