Michigan Wolverines super-booster Larry Ellison now 2nd-richest person in the world

Oracle founder and Michigan super-booster Larry Ellison is now the second-richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg. He sits behind only Elon Musk.

Ellison’s net worth increased by $4.7 billion since the last update and is up to $251 billion in total, just surpassing Mark Zuckerberg, who came in as the third-richest person in the world. On the whole, Ellison’s net worth has increased $59 billion since the beginning of the calendar year, per Bloomberg.

Ellison co-founded Oracle in 1977 and served as the company’s CEO until 2014. He currently serves as the company’s chief technology officer and executive chairman.

Ellison played a pivotal role in Michigan’s pursuit of Bryce Underwood this past recruiting cycle as the program worked to flip his commitment from LSU. The Wolverines-focused NIL collective, Champions Circle, credited the Oracle founder and his wife Jolin – a Michigan alumna whom he married in 2023 – for being “instrumental in making this happen.”

Underwood’s NIL package will pay between $10 and $12 million over four years, On3 previously reported. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy also acknowledged the role Ellison played and said the two had a conversation about the importance of landing Underwood. He added that when Ellison “zeroes in on somebody, it’s a done deal.”

“I got a call from the Michigan football team,” Portnoy said in November 2024. “They said, ‘Hey, there’s this donor who wants to talk to you.’ I said I’m doing this [landing Underwood] by myself, and I don’t need to talk to anybody. And they said, ‘Please, this woman is a big fan of Barstool and you; she’d love to talk to you. Her name is Jolin.’ … They said, ‘Oh, her husband is a guy by the name of Larry Ellison. Have you ever heard of him?’ Oh, Larry Ellison? The No. 2 richest guy on the planet? Yeah, I’ll take that phone call.

“That night, we’re on a Zoom. And we’re talking. … She said, ‘I never want to live that era [Brady Hoke] ever again. We’re the national champs, I have two kids. I can’t stomach waking up on a Saturday knowing we’re not the best team on the field.’ And I said, ‘I’m with you. What do we have to do?’ And she said, ‘I know what we’ll do. Let’s set up a call tomorrow night with Bryce Underwood and his parents.’ I said count me in. This was a month and a half ago.”