Larry Ellison has added nearly $100 billion to his net worth in 2025, putting him ahead of Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. He now holds a fortune of $289 billion, making him the second-richest person in the world behind Elon Musk. It’s a massive leap for someone who once couldn’t afford to pay his electric and gas bills. In a 2024 interview, Ellison recalled fearing he’d lose access to the garage computer where he was building his early software because he couldn’t keep the power on. He also remembered standing outside VC offices, unable to even get a rejection because no one would meet with him. Now, decades later, the company he co-founded—Oracle—has become one of the biggest winners of the AI and cloud boom. Over 80% of Ellison’s wealth is tied to Oracle stock, which has soared more than 43% this year and over 66% in the past twelve months. That surge has been fueled by key partnerships and multibillion-dollar cloud deals, including collaborations with OpenAI and SoftBank. Oracle’s gains were also boosted by recent U.S. policy shifts allowing more chip exports to China, helping its AI infrastructure business. Ellison’s comeback is a striking example of how quickly fortunes can turn in tech.