Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison has lost a record $49 billion from his net worth so far in 2026, as a sell-off in software stocks gathered pace.
Ellison’s wealth fell by about $9 billion on Wednesday alone, dropping below $200 billion after Oracle shares slid 5%, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune is down from roughly $247 billion at the start of the year to about $199 billion.
Software stocks have come under pressure amid fears that new AI tools could reduce corporate demand for traditional enterprise software. Investor concerns intensified after Anthropic released new automation plugins for its Claude Cowork agent, aimed at replacing tasks across legal, sales, finance, marketing, and data analysis.
The sell-off hit several major tech leaders. Elon Musk lost around $11 billion, Mark Zuckerberg about $8 billion, while Jeff Bezos, Jensen Huang, and Alphabet founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin each saw declines of roughly $5 billion.
Oracle has aggressively expanded into AI infrastructure, striking partnerships with Nvidia and OpenAI, but rising debt and heavy spending have sparked concern among some investors.
Notably, investor Michael Burry has criticized Oracle’s strategy, arguing the company is overreaching despite an otherwise strong core business.