Ellison vs Walton

Oracle and Walmart.

The differences

Forbes puts Larry Ellison about $41.4B ahead of Rob Walton.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 17 Oct 2026.
Larry Ellison: co-founded it. Rob Walton: inherited it.
Larry Ellison has signed the Giving Pledge; Rob Walton has not.
Larry Ellison has held a public or government advisory role; Rob Walton has none on record.

Put someone else on either side

Ellison

Walton

Net worth, Forbes: $184BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $142BForbes, 17 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $192BBloomberg, 9 Oct 2026; $144BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 8Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 12Real-Time list, 17 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: 1993Forbes: 'in 1993 Forbes first named Ellison a billionaire'; Not stated

How it started: Co-founded itOracle's bio says he founded the company in 1977; Bloomberg says he founded it with two partners; Inherited itSon of Walmart founder Sam Walton; joined Walmart in 1969 and chaired it from 1992 to 2015
Main source: Oracle stockBloomberg: 'The majority of Larry Ellison's fortune is derived from a stake in US software maker Oracle'; Walmart stock held through Walton Enterprises and the Walton Family Holdings TrustBloomberg: 'The majority of Rob Walton's fortune is derived from Walmart'
Companies: OracleOracle: Executive chair and CTO (since September 2014); WalmartWalmart: Retired chairman; left the board in 2024
Biggest stake: Oracle38.2% owned; WalmartStake not stated

Born: 17 Aug 1944New York City, United States; Not stated
Country: United StatesLives in Manalapan, Florida, United States; United StatesLives in Bentonville, Arkansas, United States
Education: Left university without a degreeLeft the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign without a degree; Graduate degreeBA, University of Arkansas; JD, Columbia University
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; Son of Sam and Helen Walton, who opened a five-and-dime store in Arkansas in 1950 and later created Walmart

Giving Pledge: Signed in 2010; Not a signer
Foundation: Larry Ellison Foundation; Rob Walton FoundationSeparate from the family-wide Walton Family Foundation
Lifetime giving: $0.5BForbes, undefined undefined 2014. Forbes' 2014 America's Top Givers figure ($507 million lifetime), reported in 2016; no newer estimate cited; Not stated

Role now: Runs the companyExecutive chair and chief technology officer of Oracle; RetiredRetired chairman of Walmart; owner in the Denver Broncos' Walton-Penner ownership group
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; Greg Penner, his son-in-law, is Walmart's non-executive chairman; John Furner is president and CEOSteuart Walton is a director, not an executive. The Delaware court opinion identifies Penner as his son-in-law
Public office: Member, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)2026-; None found
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.; None found