Oracle founder and CEO billionaire Larry Ellison has returned to third place on the list of the world's richest people, surpassing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, after Oracle's shares rose by 6% following the announcement of the TikTok deal with the company and other American investors to form a new joint venture to manage the app's business in the United States.

Oracle's stock rise

Oracle's stock rose to about $190.90 by 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, after climbing as much as 4% in pre-market trading.

TikTok deal

This rise comes immediately after TikTok announced last Thursday that it had signed an agreement with Oracle and the private equity firm Silver Lake and the state-owned UAE fund MGX, collectively owning about 45% of TikTok's U.S. operations, ending the long competition to buy the app and avoiding a national ban.

TikTok deal closing date

The deal is expected to close on January 22, which is just one day before the deadline for TikTok to sell 80% of its American assets to a U.S.-approved entity.

Larry Ellison's wealth

According to Forbes, Ellison's net worth is now estimated at around $244.8 billion, following an increase of $15 billion just on Friday.

Ellison had previously ranked second and became the second person in history to surpass a net worth of $400 billion last October, but he has fallen in recent weeks due to fluctuations in Oracle's stock.

Ellison now ranks third behind Larry Page (co-founder of Google) with a net worth estimated at $250.1 billion, and ahead of Jeff Bezos, whose wealth is $239 billion, while the first place remains with Elon Musk, whose wealth reaches a staggering $680.4 billion.

Oracle and the TikTok deal

Oracle emerged as a potential buyer for TikTok's operations earlier this year, amid reports that it would manage user data at its facilities in Texas under a new American company, while President Donald Trump postponed the deadline several times for ByteDance (the Chinese parent company of TikTok) to sell its American operations or face a ban.

Trump had previously indicated that several American companies and investors, including Microsoft and 'a group of wealthy individuals', might buy the app.

Congress passed a law in April 2024 mandating a sale or ban, amid bipartisan security concerns that the app poses a threat to national security.

Forbes reports had previously raised concerns about TikTok spying on journalists, spreading Chinese propaganda, mismanaging user data, and tracking 'sensitive words'.

This deal represents a significant victory for Oracle and Larry Ellison, a close ally of Trump, as it enhances the company's role in cloud data storage and algorithm management, reflecting growing confidence in its capabilities in artificial intelligence and digital security.

As the deal closing approaches, investors are anticipating its impact on the U.S. technology market as a whole.