NATIONAL HARBOR, MD – SEPTEMBER 19: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, founder of space venture Blue Origin and … [+]
Larry Ellison made a splash on June 14 when he became the world’s third richest person–his highest rank ever on Forbes’ Real Time Billionaires ranking. But his title at No. 3 lasted a brief eight days. Jeff Bezos, founder and chairman of Amazon, overtook Ellison, cofounder and chief technology officer of software firm Oracle, on Thursday June 22. Now Bezos is once again the third richest person in the world and Ellison is back at No. 4.
Bezos’ fortune rose $2 billion on Tuesday to $152 billion as of 4 pm E.T., lifted by a 1.4% uptick in Amazon’s stock price. Ellison’s fortune also increased Tuesday, up $1.9 billion to $147.8 billion as Oracle stock rose 0.9%. Despite their large fortunes, both men remain about $75 billion below the net worths of Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault, the two wealthiest people in the world.
Oracle’s stock has fallen about 7% since June 15, when it closed at an all-time high of $126.55 a share. Even with the recent decline, the company’s shares are up 41% year to date, partly due to investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. Ellison’s fall from third richest came in the midst of his first stock sale since 2021; late last week, he exercised 7 million Oracle options that were about to expire, then sold the stock for nearly $640 million (before taxes). His net worth dipped under the $150 billion mark on Friday amid the decline in Oracle’s share price.
Amazon’s stock has been on an upswing as well. Last Thursday, it closed at $130.15, the highest price since September 2022. This surge comes right after Amazon’s decision to join the AI race, with a $100 million investment in generative AI technology through the new AWS Generative AI Innovation Center. Bezos owns a bit less than 10% of Amazon stock–which accounts for an estimated 85% of his fortune. That increase in Amazon’s stock lifted Bezos back up and over Ellison.
While Ellison and Bezos have traded places for the third richest, the two richest people on Forbes’ Real Time Billionaires ranking also briefly switched places. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who’s been the world’s richest person since June 8, according to Forbes, briefly fell to No. 2 behind Bernard Arnault, the French luxury goods tycoon, on Monday. Tesla stock fell about 6% on Monday, a day after Goldman Sachs analysts downgraded Tesla stock from buy to neutral. But Tesla shares rebounded on Tuesday, rising 3.6% and putting Musk back at No. 1 again, with a fortune of $229 billion–about $4 billion more than Arnault.