Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, frequently referred to as one of the brightest businessmen and technologists, recently offered his list of the smartest people he knows. On an episode of the Verdict with Ted Cruz podcast, Musk named Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Google co-founder Larry Page as among the smartest individuals he knows. His comments received widespread scrutiny, especially since he has a complicated and contentious past with certain of these industry giants.
Musk praised Larry Ellison highly, calling him “one of the smartest people.” When Republican Senator Ted Cruz asked him who his favorite CEO is or whom he thinks is the smartest, Musk quickly credited Ellison’s business skills. “Larry Ellison is very smart. I would say he is one of the smartest people,” he said.
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="1080px" width="1920px" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="472px" width="839px" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="557px" width="991px" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
His relationship with Ellison is more than admiration. Ellison was a board member of Tesla from 2018 to 2022, playing a critical role in its development. He also apparently funded Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter (now X) for $1 billion and arranged for him to gain access to Nvidia GPUs to develop AI.
Musk also complimented Jeff Bezos on his intelligence despite their long rivalry in the exploration of space. “Jeff Bezos has done many difficult and important things,” he said, acknowledging Bezos’ success in e-commerce and aerospace. SpaceX and Blue Origin have frequently engaged in a battle for dominance in the commercial space industry, but Musk signaled that their relationship might be thawing, having even exchanged a funny meme in January that hinted at a softening of their rivalry.
Speaking of Google co-founder Larry Page, Musk highlighted that intelligence tends to manifest itself in accomplishments. “To some degree, a smart individual is somebody who does intelligent things,” he said, giving credit to Page for making Google a worldwide technological giant. Musk and Page used to be close, with Page having even invited Musk into his home several times. However, the two’s friendship allegedly deteriorated because of divergent opinions on artificial intelligence.
Musk’s acknowledgement of Ellison, Bezos, and Page indicates that he respects those who have gained monumental success in business and technology. Beyond individual and professional differences, his statements imply that he admires intelligence grounded on real-world achievement.
