I’ve followed Larry Ellison’s story for years, but what happened in September 2025 really left its mark. At 81, this guy became the richest person in the world in a single day. In just a few hours, his fortune exploded by more than $100 billion. Elon Musk was dethroned, and Ellison ended up at $393 billion USD. It’s crazy when you think about it.

But what interests me even more is how he got there. Ellison didn’t inherit a fortune. He started out as an orphan in New York, placed with his aunt in Chicago. Not really the classic billionaire path. He drifted through universities, and then in the 1970s found himself at Ampex working on a project for the CIA. That’s where he understood something most people missed: that databases were going to become massive.

In 1977, together with two colleagues, he invested $2000 to launch SDL, which became Oracle. And this is where he did something smart: he didn’t just create the technology—he had the business sense to monetize it. For forty years, he kept both hands on the wheel, even when cloud computing threatened to leave him out in the cold.

The real turning point came with the arrival of generative AI. Oracle seemed behind compared to AWS and Azure, but Ellison saw the opportunity. In the summer of 2025, the company laid off thousands of people in the old departments and made a massive bet on AI infrastructure. When the OpenAI contract worth $300 billion over five years was announced, the stock jumped 40% in a single day. That’s perfect timing.

What also impresses me is his life outside the office. The guy owns 98% of Lanai Island, villas all over California, and a world-class yacht. He came close to death while surfing in 1992, but he never stopped. He revived tennis at Indian Wells, and created SailGP with competitive catamarans. At 81, he remains surprisingly fit—like twenty years younger than his peers. His secret? Extreme self-discipline. Water, green tea, and daily training for decades.

And then there’s his personal life that gets people talking. Four marriages, and in 2024 he discreetly married Jolin Zhu, a woman 47 years younger than him. It was revealed by a University of Michigan document. People joke that Ellison loves riding the waves—and also romantic relationships. When you look at his life, it’s true: the guy doesn’t do anything halfway.

On the charitable front, he signed the Giving Pledge in 2010 to give away 95% of his fortune, but he does it his way. No collectives with Gates or Buffett. He gave $200 million to USC for a cancer research center, and now he’s redirecting his efforts toward the Ellison Institute of Technology with Oxford to work on health, agriculture, and clean energy.

What fascinates me is that Ellison represents a generation of tech titans who refuse to disappear. At a time when everyone is talking about the new wave of entrepreneurs, this 81-year-old proves that old legends can still dominate the game. He started with a CIA contract, built an empire of databases, and now seized the AI opportunity. It’s a late comeback, but a comeback all the same. And honestly, it’s fascinating to see someone his age stay so combative, so bold, and so unwilling to compromise. The throne of billionaires may change hands tomorrow, but for now, Ellison has reminded the world that titans never retire.