Ellison vs Dell

Oracle and Dell Technologies.

The differences

Forbes puts Michael Dell about $97.1B ahead of Larry Ellison.Forbes figures from 6 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
Both started the company their money comes from.
Larry Ellison is about 21 years older than Michael Dell.
Larry Ellison has signed the Giving Pledge; Michael Dell has not.

Put someone else on either side

Ellison

Dell

Net worth, Forbes: $184BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $281BForbes, 6 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $192BBloomberg, 9 Oct 2026; $268BBloomberg, 9 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 8Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 5Real-Time list, 14 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: 1993Forbes: 'in 1993 Forbes first named Ellison a billionaire'; 1996Bloomberg: his stake was worth more than $1 billion eight years after the 1988 IPO

How it started: Co-founded itOracle's bio says he founded the company in 1977; Bloomberg says he founded it with two partners; Founded itFounded the company with $1,000 in 1984, at 19
Main source: Oracle stockBloomberg: 'The majority of Larry Ellison's fortune is derived from a stake in US software maker Oracle'; Dell Technologies stockBloomberg: 'Much of Michael Dell's fortune is derived from his stake in Dell Technologies'
Companies: OracleOracle: Executive chair and CTO (since September 2014); Dell TechnologiesDell Technologies: Chairman and CEO
Biggest stake: Oracle38.2% owned; Dell Technologies40.9% owned

Born: 17 Aug 1944New York City, United States; 23 Feb 1965Houston, Texas, United States
Country: United StatesLives in Manalapan, Florida, United States; United StatesLives in Austin, Texas, United States
Education: Left university without a degreeLeft the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign without a degree; Left university without a degreeLeft the University of Texas at Austin
Parents: Born to Florence Spellman, a 19-year-old single mother, and adopted by her aunt and uncle, Lillian and Louis Ellison, who raised him in Chicago; His father was an orthodontist and his mother a financial consultant

Giving Pledge: Signed in 2010; Not a signer
Foundation: Larry Ellison Foundation; Michael & Susan Dell FoundationEstablished in 1999 with his wife, Susan Dell
Lifetime giving: $0.5BForbes, undefined undefined 2014. Forbes' 2014 America's Top Givers figure ($507 million lifetime), reported in 2016; no newer estimate cited; $10BMichael & Susan Dell Foundation, date not stated. Amount Michael and Susan Dell have committed to date, as the foundation reports it; a commitment, not money paid out. Includes the $6.25 billion pledged in 2025 for children's investment accounts

Role now: Runs the companyExecutive chair and chief technology officer of Oracle; Runs the companyChairman and CEO of Dell Technologies
Successor: Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia, co-CEOs since September 2025Named CEOs under Oracle's succession planning; no successor is named for his executive chair and CTO roles, and no family member is an Oracle executive officer; None namedThe 2026 10-K lists the executive officers without naming a successor; no other family member is among them
Public office: Member, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)2026-; Member, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST); Member, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)2001; 2026-
Legal record: 2005: San Mateo County Superior CourtA judge approved his settlement of a shareholder suit over Oracle stock sales in 2001: he agreed to donate $100 million to charity in Oracle's name and pay $22 million in attorneys' fees, while denying wrongdoing.; 2010: US SECSettled SEC disclosure charges over Dell Inc.'s reporting of payments from Intel, without admitting or denying the allegations; agreed to pay a $4 million civil penalty.