Larry Ellison dropped to the world’s fifth-richest person after losing approximately $47 billion in net worth in less than a week, as Oracle shares tumbled following disappointing capital expenditure guidance in the company’s earnings report.
Ellison’s fortune fell from roughly $296 billion on June 2 to around $249.7 billion by June 10, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List. The Oracle co-founder, who owns approximately 40% of the company, fell behind Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla chief Elon Musk, and two other billionaires in the rankings.
Oracle reported record fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter revenue of $19.2 billion on June 10, beating analyst expectations. However, the company disclosed that capital expenditures—largely for data center expansion to support artificial intelligence services—reached $55.66 billion in fiscal 2026, exceeding its $50 billion target. The higher-than-expected spending spooked investors worried about the company’s growing debt load and cash flow.
The stock fell more than 2% during regular trading on June 10 before dropping an additional 4% to 9% in after-hours trading, closing below $200 per share. This sharp decline directly impacted Ellison’s wealth, since his fortune tracks Oracle’s stock price closely given his large stake in the company.
Ellison’s dramatic wealth swing highlights how concentrated his net worth is in a single stock. Just days earlier, on June 2, Oracle shares surged nearly 8%, lifting his net worth by $21.4 billion to $302 billion and briefly making him the world’s third-richest person. The reversal came after investors reassessed the company’s AI infrastructure investment strategy.
The broader tech sector saw multiple billionaires lose significant wealth in 2026. In March, six of the world’s ten richest people experienced wealth declines between $30 billion and $60 billion each as tech stocks faced selling pressure, according to reporting at the time. Ellison’s latest decline underscores how rapidly billionaire fortunes can shift with single earnings announcements and stock movements.
Sources
- Forbes — Larry Ellison’s net worth decline from $296 billion to $249.7 billion, ranking drop to fifth-richest
- The Times of India — Confirmation of $47 billion loss in less than 7 days and fifth-place ranking
- Benzinga — Oracle stock decline and Ellison’s ranking shift
- Bloomberg — Oracle’s capital expenditures of $16.5 billion in Q4 and annual total of $55.66 billion, exceeding guidance
- Reuters — Oracle’s AI spending and debt concerns following earnings
- Investopedia — Oracle stock surge on June 2 lifting Ellison’s net worth by $21.4 billion to $302 billion
- WSJ — Ellison’s 40% ownership stake in Oracle
