Larry Ellison is a self-made billionaire, technology visionary, and co-founder of Oracle Corporation, which has become one of the leading software companies in the world. A college dropout, he set forth and built a global empire that changed the way businesses handle their data. By 2025, he was the second richest person in the United States, with major stakes in Oracle, Tesla, and real estate. Ellison is known for his brash personality and opulent lifestyle, and the story of his rise from modest beginnings to ruling the tech scene struck a chord in Silicon Valley as one of ambition, innovation, and strategy.
Larry Ellison’s net worth shot up by $23 billion to $240 billion shortly after Thursday’s market open, enjoying easily the largest daily bump of any billionaire, according to Forbes data. (Photo: Andrew Harnik via Getty Images) https://t.co/VPfFOFMKRO pic.twitter.com/qk5FefXROw
— Forbes (@Forbes) June 13, 2025
Early Life and Humble Beginnings
Born in New York City in 1944, Larry Ellison's early life was shaped in a simple Chicago neighborhood by his aunt and uncle. His formal education was unconventional; he left both the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago without graduating. Despite this, his fascination with computing remained strong.
In the 1970s, Ellison moved to California, a burgeoning tech hub. There, he gained valuable experience through various programming jobs. This hands-on work prepared him for a pivotal moment in 1977 when he co-founded Software Development Laboratories (SDL). This company, initially focused on database software, would later transform into Oracle, becoming a global giant in the technology industry under its leadership.
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Rise of Oracle Corporation
A turning point in Ellison's career was his realization of the significance of relational database management systems (RDBMS). Having read a paper from IBM, Oracle went on to write the first commercial RDBMS, a move that shook up the data management world. In those days, business efficiency, data processing, and automation were the main issues at hand, a real problem for businesses.
The company was beyond its reach in terms of Success during the 1980s and 1990s, extending its presence to sectors that could rightly be called the Software Industry of the future. At the same time that Ellison was the captain of Oracle's ship, the corporation witnessed a suffering period but at the same time a period of significant growth as it acquired companies later. For example, Sun Microsystems was one of many that was involved in the production of Oracle products.
Rise to Second-Richest Man in The World
Larry Ellison reached the second-highest wealth position worldwide in June 2025 after exceeding the net worths of Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. The stock price of Oracle experienced a substantial 13% increase in one day because of the company’s solid quarterly earnings results and promising future projections.
As the owner of 40 percent of Oracle, Ellison experienced a $26 billion overnight increase in his net worth, which reached $243 billion. For a short time, Ellison surpassed Zuckerberg, who had $239 billion, and Bezos, who had $227 billion in net worth. The market boost came from investors believing in Oracle’s expanding capabilities in AI and cloud computing, and enterprise technology solutions.
Elon Musk continues to hold the number one position worldwide, but Ellison’s sudden rise shows how technology investments with proper market timing can quickly alter the billionaire rankings. His financial strength in the tech industry grows stronger through his association with Tesla and his well-diversified business portfolio.
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