Larry Ellison Overtakes Bezos as Oracle Rally Lifts Fortune

Oracle shares climbed to their highest intraday level of 2026 on Monday, extending a powerful rally that has transformed the longtime database company into one of Wall Street’s leading artificial intelligence infrastructure plays. The surge significantly increased the wealth of Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, whose roughly 40% ownership stake in the company helped push his net worth above $300 billion and elevate him to the position of the world’s third-richest person, ahead of Jeff Bezos and Sergey Brin.

The stock gained more than 10% during Monday’s session, reaching $250 per share. The move followed Oracle’s strongest monthly performance since 2001 and reflected growing investor confidence in the company’s expanding role within the AI industry.

Oracle has increasingly shifted its focus from traditional enterprise software to AI infrastructure, providing computing capacity to major AI developers, including OpenAI. The latest rally also marks a rebound from earlier setbacks. Shares had previously fallen around 35% from a late-October peak after investors reacted to the company’s $50 billion AI expansion strategy, weaker-than-expected revenue results, and reports suggesting delays in financing and construction timelines for data centers linked to OpenAI projects.

Recent optimism has been reinforced by several Wall Street firms. Analysts at Wedbush, Arete and Oppenheimer raised their price targets for Oracle, pointing to the company’s long-term customer commitments and its growing importance in supporting technology giants such as OpenAI, Microsoft, Nvidia and Meta.

The gains have coincided with a broader recovery across software stocks. The iShares Software ETF advanced approximately 21% in May, marking its strongest monthly increase in 25 years as concerns that AI could undermine traditional software companies gave way to renewed confidence in the sector.

Ellison, who cofounded Oracle in 1977, helped turn the company into one of the world’s most valuable software businesses. His influence extends beyond technology. His son, David Ellison, leads Paramount Skydance, whose proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery—supported by investments from the Ellison family and RedBird Capital—would unite major entertainment assets including Harry Potter, the DC Universe, CBS, CNN and HBO under an Ellison-backed structure. Oracle also owns roughly a 15% stake in TikTok’s U.S. operations, further connecting the family to ongoing discussions surrounding media ownership, foreign investment and corporate influence.

Beyond his holdings in Oracle and Tesla, Ellison owns the Indian Wells tennis tournament and approximately 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai. One of the most remarkable moments in his wealth accumulation came during Oracle’s September 2025 rally, when his fortune increased by $100 billion in a single day, the largest one-day personal wealth gain ever recorded, pushing his net worth beyond $400 billion.

Despite the recent surge, some analysts remain cautious. Critics argue that Oracle’s AI-driven growth story depends heavily on substantial capital spending and successful execution. The company currently carries more than $124 billion in long-term debt and continues to spend aggressively on infrastructure. Skeptics say Oracle must deliver on its planned AI data center projects while customers such as OpenAI maintain the rapid growth needed to justify those investments.