Silicon Valley, CA – In a dramatic shift at the pinnacle of global wealth, 81-year-old Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has once again ascended to the position of the world’s richest person, surpassing Elon Musk. Ellison’s net worth surged by over $100 billion in a single day, a record-breaking feat, propelling his fortune to an astonishing $393 billion. This monumental financial leap is largely attributed to Oracle’s strategic pivot and massive gains in the booming Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector, with a significant portion of its revenue now driven by cloud computing.
Adding a fascinating dimension to this wealth narrative is Ellison’s 33-year-old wife, Keren Zhu, a talented Chinese-American woman, who now stands as part of the world’s most powerful “power couple” in the tech and finance world.
Oracle’s AI-Driven Surge: Cloud Computing Takes Center Stage
Ellison’s sudden ascent is a testament to Oracle’s successful “selling compute power” strategy. The latest fiscal year data reveals that cloud computing now accounts for an impressive 48% of Oracle’s total revenue. This growth has been significantly bolstered by a projected $300 billion deal with OpenAI over the next five years, a landmark agreement underscoring the massive demand for AI infrastructure.
During a recent earnings call, Ellison remarked on the unprecedented scale of the AI development wave, stating, “The AI development wave is unprecedented in scale, far exceeding anything seen before.” He emphasized that the success of AI is built upon the foundational advancements in cloud computing and big data transformation.
The market’s reaction was swift and powerful. Oracle’s stock price surged by over 35% in a single day, increasing the company’s market capitalization by more than $250 billion, reaching a staggering $922.2 billion. This monumental jump places Oracle at the 12th position globally among the world’s largest companies.
Last night was truly a night of frenzy in the capital markets, signaling a full-scale offensive in the AI race. It’s a clear indication that the time to fully embrace compute power has arrived.
Historic Moment: Compute Revenue Nears Half of Total Earnings
Oracle recently announced its first-quarter fiscal year 2026 results, reporting revenue of $14.93 billion, a 12% year-over-year increase. Notably, cloud computing revenue jumped 28% to $7.186 billion, now comprising nearly half of the company’s total revenue.
Software revenue saw a slight decrease of 1% to $5.721 billion (38% of total revenue), while hardware and services contributed 2% ($670 million) and 7% ($1.349 billion) respectively. This clearly highlights cloud computing as Oracle’s primary revenue driver.
Oracle’s cloud revenue is segmented into the application layer and the infrastructure layer, with both contributing almost equally. Ellison elaborated on the immense market potential, stating, “AI model training is a massive multi-trillion dollar market. But if you look closely, you’ll find an even larger market, which is AI inference.”
Further bolstering Oracle’s prospects, its remaining performance obligations (RPO)—contracted revenue not yet recognized—reached an astounding $455 billion in the current quarter, a more than fourfold increase year-over-year and a threefold increase quarter-over-quarter. This figure stood at a mere $138 billion in the previous quarter.
Oracle CEO Safra Catz disclosed that Oracle had signed four contracts worth “billions of dollars” each with three major clients in the last fiscal quarter. She expressed optimism, projecting RPO to exceed $500 billion in the coming months.
The $300 Billion Deal: OpenAI Secures Massive Cloud Capacity
Adding significant fuel to Oracle’s growth, the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI has entered into a substantial agreement with Oracle, committing to purchase $300 billion worth of compute power over the next five years.
This deal is recognized as one of the largest cloud contracts in history. Despite rising market concerns about an AI bubble, investment in AI data centers continues to reach new heights. The agreement between OpenAI and Oracle, set to commence in 2027, will provide an estimated 4.5GW of power capacity. This is comparable to the power output of more than two Hoover Dams, enough to supply approximately 4 million homes.
This contract represents a significant, high-stakes gamble for both Oracle and OpenAI. OpenAI, despite its groundbreaking work, has historically operated at a loss. With an annual revenue of approximately $10 billion as of June, it falls far short of its estimated annual operational costs of $60 billion. Meanwhile, Oracle is placing a substantial portion of its future revenue on a single client, OpenAI, and must finance the considerable cost of AI chips required for its data centers.
The ultimate beneficiary of this strategic move appears to be founder Larry Ellison.
An 81-Year Journey: The Epic Rise of Larry Ellison
As a co-founder of Oracle, Larry Ellison is the architect of a legendary database empire. Known for his distinctive lifestyle and multifaceted personality, he remains one of Silicon Valley’s most intriguing and debated figures.
An “outcast” who only met his birth mother at 48, a college dropout who built immense wealth, and a billionaire often labeled a “dictator” and “playboy”—Ellison’s story is far more complex than commonly perceived.
From Chicago’s Slums to the Pinnacle of Silicon Valley
Born in New York City in August 1944, Ellison’s father was an Italian-American Army Air Corps pilot, and his mother a 19-year-old Jewish woman. He never knew his biological father. Unable to raise him alone due to financial difficulties, his mother gave him to her aunt and uncle at nine months old. He then moved to the South Side of Chicago, a neighborhood then described as “America’s oldest and worst black ghetto,” where he spent his childhood.
His adoptive father, his uncle, was reportedly cold and abusive, frequently calling young Larry a “failure.” This upbringing fostered a sense of alienation in Ellison but also ignited a rebellious spirit.
Larry’s adoptive parents - aunt and uncle
After graduating, the 20-year-old Ellison moved to California and began his career as a programmer, largely self-taught. During the economic boom of the 1960s and 70s, the burgeoning field of database technology created a high demand for skilled professionals. Ellison honed his skills at various companies before joining Ampex in 1973, where he met future Oracle co-founders Ed Oates and Bob Miner.
In 1977, Ellison and his partners invested $2,000 to found the Software Development Laboratories. Their first major contract came from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for a project codenamed “Oracle.” Following the success of this project, the company was officially renamed Oracle in 1983. From there, Oracle steadily outpaced competitors like Sybase, climbing to the top of the global tech industry.
A Shenyang Talent: A 33-Year-Old Finds Love with the Richest Man
Ellison’s romantic life, much like his wealth, has garnered significant public attention. He has been married five times, with an additional notable relationship with model Nikita Kahn.
Last year, news of Ellison’s marriage to Keren Zhu, a woman from Shenyang, China, captured widespread attention. Zhu pursued higher education in the United States, earning a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Michigan in 2012.
She subsequently relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, near Oracle’s headquarters. Her first public appearance with Ellison was at an NBA game in 2016, during which Ellison was still married to his previous wife, Nikita Kahn. Since 2017, the couple has been frequently seen together at tennis matches. Reports also suggest they may have two children. Furthermore, Keren Zhu’s name appears in property records for Octopus Holdings, a company owned by Ellison.
A Wealthy Empire: Owning an Island
Unlike many entrepreneurs who focus solely on their work, Ellison embraces a lifestyle of extravagance and freedom. He has invested substantial wealth into real estate, yachts, and tennis events. Notably, in 2012, Ellison purchased 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai for $300 million. He also dedicated nearly a decade and an estimated $200 million to construct an 180,000-square-meter Japanese garden in Silicon Valley.
From the impoverished neighborhoods of Chicago to the peak of Silicon Valley, Larry Ellison has penned an extraordinary life story over 81 years. Today, he has reclaimed the title of the world’s richest person. With such a remarkable journey, what reason do you have not to go all in?
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