Mega-billionaire Larry Ellison is making a killing from a $1 billion Tesla bet he made in 2018
- Oracle chairman Larry Ellison purchased 3 million Tesla shares for roughly $1 billion before he joined the automaker's board in December 2018, according to Bloomberg.
- Today, that stake is worth $1.6 billion following Tesla's recent rally.
- Tesla has netted other investors big gains. Baillie Gifford's decision not to lower its Tesla stake meant clients had made profits on paper of $5 billion, The Times of London reported Monday.
- Watch Tesla trade live on Markets Insider.
Larry Ellison's big bet on Tesla is starting to pay off.
Ellison, the chairman and founder of Oracle, purchased 3 million Tesla shares for roughly $1 billion before he joined the automaker's board in December 2018, according to Bloomberg.
Today, that stake is worth more than $1.6 billion, Bloomberg reported, after Tesla's epic rebound and a rally that's sent shares up as much as 25% in 2020 alone.
Ellison's investment didn't do so well for much of 2019. Shares of Tesla shed about 46% from the beginning of the year to their annual low of roughly $178 per share in June.
While shares traded up slightly from that low in the following months, they didn't make meaningful gains until October, when Tesla reported in its third-quarter earnings a surprise return to profitability. That sent shares soaring as much as 17% in after-hours trading following the earnings release, and sparked the beginning of a rally.
Since October, Tesla's share price has doubled and broken a number of records, fueled by solid vehicle delivery numbers for 2019 and optimism about the company's new Gigafactory in Shanghai. In January, Tesla officially became the highest valued US automaker of all time, and shortly after, its market cap eclipsed that of Ford and General Motors combined.
This week, Tesla surged to another milestone, breaking through the $500 per share threshold for the first time ever and ending Monday at a fresh high of $524.86.
There are other noted investors who have benefited from holding positions in Tesla. Baillie Gifford, Tesla's largest shareholder outside of Elon Musk, discussed reducing its 10% stake in the company amid its struggles in 2019, The Times of London reported Monday.
But the Edinburgh-based fund management group ultimately decided after an internal review that the case against Tesla was not strong enough to reduce its position. It's paid off - Baillie Gifford clients had made profits on paper of $5 billion because of the decision not to reduce the Tesla stake, The Times reported.
Tesla has gained roughly 25% year-to-date through Monday's close.
