A few months ago, on September 10, 2025, something quite sensational happened in the world of wealth. Larry Ellison, 81 years old, officially became the richest man on the planet, surpassing Elon Musk. His net worth jumped by more than 100 billion dollars in a single day, reaching 393 billion dollars. Musk fell to 385 billion dollars. All of it because of news about Oracle and AI contracts.

But what struck me most was the story of how Ellison got to where he is. It’s not the usual Silicon Valley mogul story. He was born in the Bronx to a 19-year-old mother who couldn’t support him, and he was entrusted to his aunt in Chicago. He dropped out of college twice. No money, no apparent connections. And yet, this guy built an empire.

In the 1970s, Ellison worked at Ampex when he took part in a project for the CIA: creating an efficient database system. That’s where the idea of Oracle came from. In 1977, at age 32, together with two colleagues, he invested 2,000 dollars, of which 1,200 was his own, to found a small software company. He wasn’t a technical genius in the pure sense, but he understood the commercial value of databases before anyone else. In 1986, Oracle was listed on Nasdaq. From that moment on, the story becomes the one we all know.

Here we come to the interesting part. While Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure dominated the cloud, Oracle seemed to be falling behind. It almost looked like the sleeping giant of technology. But Ellison is not the type to give up. In the summer of 2025, the company made a smart move: layoffs in traditional sectors, massive investments in data centers and AI infrastructure. Right when the market went crazy for AI, Oracle found its entry ticket. Four contracts in the quarter, including a 300 billion dollar collaboration with OpenAI. The stock price rose 40% in one day, the biggest increase since 1992.

What makes Ellison different from other billionaires? First and foremost, obsessive discipline. At 81 years old, according to people who know him, he seems 20 years younger. He constantly trains his body, and he drinks only water and green tea—no sugary drinks. He’s obsessed with sports: sailing, tennis, surfing. In 2013, his Oracle Team USA won the America’s Cup. He founded SailGP, a league of catamarans that attracts investors like Anne Hathaway and Mbappé.

He owns 98% of Lanai Island in Hawaii, luxury yachts, and villas in California. But he’s not the kind who wastes. He lives an interesting contradiction: extreme luxury, but even more extreme discipline. In 1992, he risked dying in a surfing accident. He didn’t stop surfing. He simply kept going—more determined than ever.

As for his private life—well, Ellison is a character. He’s been married four times. In 2024, he quietly married Jolin Zhu, a woman of Chinese origin who is 47 years younger than him. The news came from a university donation. Some say he loves surfing and love with the same irresistible passion.

On the family front, his son David Ellison acquired Paramount Global for 8 billion dollars, with 6 billion coming from the family. The father dominates Silicon Valley, and the son dominates film. Two generations—an empire that spans technology and entertainment.

Politically, Ellison has always been active. He supports the Republican Party and has funded presidential campaigns. In January of this year, he appeared at the White House alongside the CEOs of SoftBank and OpenAI to announce a 500 billion dollar AI data center project.

When it comes to philanthropy, Ellison signed the Giving Pledge in 2010, promising to donate 95% of his wealth. But unlike Gates and Buffett, he prefers to act independently. He donated 200 million dollars to USC for cancer research. Recently, he announced the Ellison Institute of Technology with Oxford, focusing on medicine, food, and climate.

At 81 years old, Larry Ellison is finally at the top. This isn’t a story of inheritance or initial luck. It’s the story of an orphan boy who understood the value of things before anyone else, who had the courage to invest everything, and who never stopped fighting. In the AI world that’s reshaping everything, the legend of the old tech titans is far from over. If anything, it looks like he’s living his best season.