I recently saw that Larry Ellison, at 81 years old, became the richest man in the world, and the story behind this is much more interesting than just a change in the billionaire rankings.

It all started on September 10, 2025. Oracle announced four massive contracts that day, including a five-year, $300 billion deal with OpenAI. The market responded brutally: shares jumped more than 40% in a single session, the biggest surge since 1992. Ellison's fortune jumped over $100 billion, surpassing Elon Musk, who had held that throne for years. Suddenly, he had $393 billion compared to Musk's $385 billion.

But the fascinating thing isn't just the number. It's how a guy who dropped out of college reached this point. Ellison was born in the Bronx in 1944, the son of a 19-year-old single mother. He was sent to live with his aunt in Chicago as an infant. His adoptive family faced financial difficulties. He enrolled at the University of Illinois but dropped out in his second year when his adoptive mother died. He tried again in Chicago but lasted only one semester. Then he simply traveled across the United States, working sporadically in programming.

What changed everything was Ampex Corporation in the early 1970s. There, he worked on a key project: designing a database for the CIA with the code name Oracle. In 1977, at 32, he and two colleagues invested $2,000 (Ellison contributed $1,200) to found Software Development Laboratories. They decided to commercialize what they had learned, creating a universal database system. They named it directly Oracle. In 1986, it went public on Nasdaq and became a star in enterprise software.

The interesting part is that Ellison didn't invent database technology, but he was one of the first to see its real commercial value and bet his entire fortune on it. His personality is challenging, almost obsessive. He has held nearly every position in the company for over forty years. Even in 1992, he almost died surfing, but that didn't stop him. He returned in 1995 and continued at the helm for another decade. In 2014, he stepped down as CEO but remains chairman of the board.

Now, in 2025, AI gave him a second wind. Oracle had fallen behind in cloud computing compared to Amazon and Microsoft in the early days, but its dominance in databases and relationships with enterprise clients kept it relevant. When generative AI exploded, Oracle pivoted aggressively toward AI infrastructure. Summer 2025 was brutal: thousands were laid off in traditional hardware and software, but they massively invested in data centers for AI. Suddenly, Oracle went from a software veteran to a central player in AI infrastructure.

His son David is also in the game. In 2024, he bought Paramount Global for $8 billion, with $6 billion in family support. The father in Silicon Valley, the son in entertainment: they built an empire spanning technology and media.

Ellison's personal life is as intense as his career. He owns 98% of Lanai Island in Hawaii, several mansions in California, and world-class yachts. He's obsessed with water and wind. In 2013, his sailing team won the America’s Cup in one of the most epic comebacks in history. In 2018, he founded SailGP, a high-speed catamaran league now with investors like Anne Hathaway and Mbappé. He also revitalized the Indian Wells tennis tournament, turning it into the fifth Grand Slam.

At 81, Larry Ellison maintains an almost obsessive self-discipline. He spends hours exercising daily, only drinks water and green tea, and strictly controls his diet. That’s why he looks vibrant, nearly twenty years younger than his peers. In 2024, he discreetly married Jolin Zhu, a Chinese woman who is 47 years his junior. The news broke when the University of Michigan mentioned 'Larry Ellison and his wife Jolin' in a donation document.

In philanthropy, he signed the Pledge of Donation in 2010, committing to donate at least 95% of his wealth. But unlike Gates or Buffett, he works independently. He donated $200 million to USC for cancer research. Recently, he announced that part of his fortune will go to the Ellison Institute of Technology at Oxford University to research health, food, and climate.

What fascinates me about Ellison is that he never settled. He started with nothing, built an empire of databases, nearly disappeared during the cloud era, and then, at 81, executes a perfect pivot into AI. Some say the throne of the world's richest man could change soon, but at this moment, Ellison proved that the legend of tech titans is far from over. He's the stubborn Silicon Valley playboy who never settled for less.