Oracle founder Larry Ellison
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison saw his fortune shrink by more than $6 billion in a single day as investors continued to dump Oracle shares amid growing concerns over the company’s artificial intelligence investments, rising debt burden and challenges facing key data centre projects. Ellison’s net worth fell by $6.1 billion on Friday, taking his estimated wealth to $178 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index data cited by Benzinga. Over the past 12 months, the Oracle co-founder has reportedly lost about $194 billion in wealth, making him one of the biggest losers among the world’s richest individuals. Shares have plunged about 62% from their peak, wiping roughly $550 billion off the company’s market value. Oracle’s market capitalisation has fallen from approximately $875 billion late last year to around $387 billion. The company has attracted scrutiny over its exposure to OpenAI-related projects, including a reported $300 billion agreement linked to the Stargate initiative. At the same time, Oracle’s total debt has surged to $169 billion from $88 billion early last year, raising concerns about future financing costs. Bonds maturing in 2036 are now yielding 7.8%, significantly higher than the year’s low of 5.3%, while another $2.75 billion in bonds maturing in 2066 are yielding 8.73%, reflecting investor demands for greater compensation to hold the company’s debt.
The decline in Ellison’s fortune comes as Oracle stock has emerged as one of the worst-performing large technology companies on Wall Street. Investor concerns have centred on Oracle’s aggressive push into artificial intelligence infrastructure and its growing debt obligations. The pressure has also spread to Oracle’s bond market performance. Oracle is also grappling with challenges surrounding Project Jupiter, its major data centre development in New Mexico. The company has reportedly declared force majeure on the project, citing power supply and gas pipeline constraints. In July, the New Mexico State Land Office rejected the proposed Green Chile pipeline permit, pointing to concerns over water consumption, carbon emissions and limited economic benefits for the state. The project is also facing separate air-quality permitting issues.