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華爾街日報Oracle Q2 Shock Wipes $33 Billion From Larry Ellison's Fortune — Puts Paramount's Warner Bid In Spotlight
Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) co-founder and chief technology officer Larry Ellison is one of the richest people in the world, so rich that he even surpassed Elon Musk briefly for the title of richest person in the world earlier this year. A drop in Oracle's share price on Thursday has Ellison feeling the heat.
Oracle stock is among today’s weakest performers. Why is ORCL stock falling?
Ellison's Wealth Drops
Ellison owns around 41% of Oracle’s shares, a software company he co-founded in 1977.
That stake in Oracle and stakes in Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) have helped boost Ellison's wealth in 2025.
On Thursday, Ellison saw his wealth decline by over $30 billion as Oracle shares fell by double-digit percentages after reporting mixed second-quarter financial results.
Forbes estimated Ellison's wealth was down by $31 billion Thursday night, with Oracle shares plummeting in after-hours trading. The current live wealth tracker shows Ellison losing $33.3 billion.
Whatever the final number is at the end of Thursday's trading day, Ellison's wealth decline will be one of the largest in history.
Forbes shows Ellison sliding to third place on the world's richest list at $243 billion, behind Google co-founder Larry Page, who is worth an estimated $258.7 billion. Tesla CEO Elon Musk remains at the top of the Forbes list at $490.5 billion.
Other big one-day losses by billionaires include a $29 billion one-day loss by Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a $34 billion loss by Musk earlier this year. While Ellison's one-day loss is among the highest in dollar value, it pales in comparison to the 99% drop in wealth for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in one day back in November 2022.
Coincidentally, Ellison saw his wealth surge by $100 billion one day in September earlier this year, thanks to a large gain for Oracle stock. The gain briefly made Ellison the wealthiest person in the world, surpassing Musk, according to Bloomberg estimates.
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Poor Timing For Wealth to Change
While there is never a good time for a billionaire to lose a significant portion of their wealth, it may be abysmal timing for Ellison.
The billionaire is currently backing a bid from Paramount Skydance for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD). Paramount Skydance, which is run by Ellison's son David, counts the elder Ellison as one of the largest shareholders.
Paramount Skydance recently increased its bid for Warner Bros. in an effort to trump the current winning offer from Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX).
Ellison is helping to finance the renewed bid along with some international wealth funds and Jared Kushner's private equity fund. The role of international wealth funds and Kushner, who is the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, could raise ethics concerns.
If the concerns are heightened, Paramount could be stuck looking for new backers or see the need for Ellison to put more money into the merger. Ellison previously helped finance the Paramount and Skydance merger.
Losing a significant portion of Ellison’s wealth in the middle of a negotiation could make Warner Bros. management and its investors skeptical that the Paramount offer has sufficient capital or that they could raise their bid if requested.
Oracle stock may bounce back in the coming days or weeks, but right now, the post-earnings decline has Ellison's wealth down and could put an increased spotlight on the large size of Paramount Skydance's bid for Warner Bros. and its backers.
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Image created using artificial intelligence via Gemini.