While the world's attention was focused on the White House, 81-year-old Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison became a central figure in the year's key business events – from the AI boom to mega-deals in Hollywood. According to Bloomberg, Ellison became the key figure in the business world, writes UNN.
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2025 was a period of historic data center construction for Ellison. Together with Sam Altman and Masayoshi Son, he announced a plan to invest $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Oracle's key success was a $300 billion deal with OpenAI, which transformed the company into the main landlord of computing power for the AI market leader.
In September, after the scale of cooperation with OpenAI was revealed, Ellison's fortune grew by a record $89 billion in a single day. This allowed him to temporarily top the ranking of the world's richest people, surpassing Elon Musk.
Hollywood ambitions and financial risks
Ellison Sr. also became the main sponsor of his son David's media expansion. With his father's support, Skydance Media gained control of Paramount. In addition, Larry Ellison personally guaranteed $40.4 billion in financing for an attempted acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Despite the successes, Bloomberg analysts point to the vulnerability of Ellison's business empire. Oracle recorded negative cash flow for the first time since the 90s due to aggressive data center construction. The high concentration of capital in Oracle shares and significant debt obligations make the billionaire's fortune, now estimated at $250 billion, dependent on the stability of the AI market and the success of his son's media assets.