Larry Ellison And Elon Musk Are $5 Billion Richer This Week, As Stock Market Hits New...

THE CHANGING FORTUNES OF THE WORLD’S RICHEST

ven as legal and political issues continue to delay the closing of Oracle’s deal to acquire the U.S operations of TikTok, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison’s fortune rose $2.5 billion this week, as shares of his software giant climbed ahead of a quarterly earnings report next week.

Oracle stock jumped by around 4% between Friday, November 27 and Friday, December 4— pushing Ellison’s net worth up to an estimated $81.5 billion. Ellison, who owns about 35% of Oracle, is the seventh richest person in the world. The U.S. stock market continued to rally, with both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting fresh record highs amid growing expectations for a stimulus deal from Congress.

Oracle’s stock has largely held steady in recent weeks, despite delays in getting the final signoff to acquire—in partnership with Walmart—social media app TikTok. President Trump first issued an executive order in August requiring TikTok to sell its U.S. business, and in September approved a deal with Oracle and Walmart to create a new U.S.-based entity. The deal is yet to close, however, with the deadline extended multiple times. So far, two federal judges have issued separate preliminary injunctions blocking Commerce Department orders which would ban TikTok, decisions that have been appealed by the Trump administration.

Despite his big gain, Ellison was not the billionaire whose fortune rose the most in dollar terms over the past week. That honor goes to Pang Kang, chairman of Foshan Haitian Flavoring & Food, which went public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2014 and is one of China’s biggest suppliers of soy sauce. Foshan’s stock is up nearly 12% over the last week, boosting Kang’s fortune by $3.5 billion, to an estimated $28.6 billion.

Other billionaires in Asia also enjoyed a big week, including South Korea’s second richest person, Seo Jung-jin, whose net worth grew by $2.9 billion, to $17 billion. He is the cofounder of Celltrion, a biopharmaceutical firm that makes drugs to treat diseases like cancer, influenza and rheumatoid arthritis, and has been working on a coronavirus vaccine. Its stock rose by 13% this week and is up by more than 100% so far this year, boosted by the company’s progress on its Covid-19 antibody shot, which entered phase three trials in October.

Chinese billionaire Jiang Rensheng, meanwhile, saw his fortune rise by $2.6 billion as shares of his biotech company, Chongqing Zhifei, climbed by around 15% this week. His company is also working on a Covid-19 vaccine, which will undergo phase three trials in Uzbekistan. Jiang, who has an estimated $19.4 billion fortune, has nearly tripled his net worth since March.

Another big gainer this week: Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose net worth continued to skyrocket as shares of his electric vehicle maker keep moving up in anticipation of being added to the S&P 500 index later this month. Shares of Tesla, in which Musk owns a 21% stake, rose 2.3% over the week, boosting Musk’s net worth to $134.7 billion. He is now the third richest person in the world after recently overtaking Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, who’s worth $119 billion.