How to make $1 billion overnight? Think software
That Larry Ellison is having a good week would be an understatement.
The Oracle (ORCL) founder made more than $1 billion overnight, at least on paper, after a gain in the business software maker's stock price, Forbes reports. Oracle shares rose 3 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday despite the company announcing middling financial results, and have continued to edge up.
The boost in Oracle's market value also lifted Ellison, who serves as the company's executive chairman and chief technology officer, on Forbes' list of the world's richest people. A decline in Oracle's stock in 2015 had shaved $10.7 billion off Ellison's fortune, but a rebound in recent weeks has boosted his estimated worth by more than $5 billion.
According to Forbes' latest numbers, Ellison is now the sixth-richest person on the planet, with a net worth of $49.1 billion. Not bad for a college dropout. In terms of tech industry bragging rights, it also vaults him past Faceb00k's (FB) Mark Zuckerberg (another college dropout), whose wealth is estimated at $48.6 billion.
The richiest rich dude? That's Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (yet another dropout), with a fortune of nearly $78 billion.
Rounding out the top five are retail king Amancio Ortega, founder of Zara ($71 billion); celebrated investor Warren Buffet ($66 billion); Mexican telecom honcho Carlos Slim Helu ($59 billion); and Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos ($49 billion).