Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has added a staggering $40 billion to his net worth in just two trading days, overtaking Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg to become the world’s second richest man, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaires ranking.

His wealth now stands at $258 billion, second only to Elon Musk, whose net worth sits at $414 billion.

The extraordinary jump in Ellison’s fortune follows a historic rally in Oracle’s stock, driven by the company’s better-than-expected quarterly earnings and mounting investor optimism over its role in powering artificial intelligence workloads. Oracle shares surged 13% on Thursday and climbed an additional 7% by mid-Friday, closing in on $215 per share—an all-time high.

The rally added a massive $104 billion to Oracle’s market capitalization in two days, a valuation increase larger than the entire worth of tech giants like Intel or retail brands like Nike. For Ellison, who owns 41% of Oracle, the market surge translated to a $25 billion gain on Thursday and another $16 billion on Friday—easily the largest daily wealth increase recorded by any billionaire this year.

According to Forbes, “Ellison’s net worth accordingly rocketed by more than $40 billion to $258 billion from Wednesday to Friday… vaulting Ellison past Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos ($228 billion) and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($238 billion).”

Oracle’s AI Pivot Sparks Investor Frenzy

Oracle’s quarterly earnings report released on Wednesday, exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.70 and total revenue of $15.9 billion, largely fueled by soaring demand for Oracle’s cloud infrastructure services—a critical component in the AI supply chain.

Analysts say this marks a pivotal turning point for Oracle, signaling a fundamental shift in the market’s perception of Oracle’s future trajectory. Many believe that Oracle’s fiscal year 2026, which began this month, could usher in a new phase of accelerated growth, anchored by expanding adoption of artificial intelligence technologies across industries.

Oracle has quietly but firmly entrenched itself as a cornerstone of AI infrastructure. Its cloud platforms not only power enterprise applications but also handle sensitive government data. It serves as the U.S. hosting provider for TikTok user data and has been ramping up its AI offerings through recent strategic partnerships.

Ellison’s Expanding Influence in Tech and AI

At 80, Ellison remains an active force in both technology and political spheres. Beyond his executive role at Oracle, he recently helped launch “Stargate,” a major AI infrastructure venture backed by Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank. The project, unveiled with the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump, aims to build out next-generation AI capabilities at scale.

He also previously served on Tesla’s board and has been a financial contributor to Republican political campaigns, further embedding himself in high-level business and policymaking networks.

A Broader Tech Trend

Ellison’s meteoric wealth gain is the latest example of how AI infrastructure is reshaping wealth dynamics among tech billionaires. As the industry races to build the foundations of an AI-driven global economy—data centers, chips, cloud platforms, and specialized software—investors are pouring capital into companies positioned to support and scale these capabilities.

With the AI sector projected to surpass $1.8 trillion in market value by 2030, according to Grand View Research, infrastructure providers like Oracle are emerging as some of the biggest financial winners.

The Oracle stock rally not only marks a personal triumph for Ellison but also signals investor confidence in the company’s long-term role in the AI economy.