
Wed Mar 19 05:34:03 UTC 2025: ## Musk Names Bezos, Ellison, and Page as Smartest People He Knows
**Austin, TX –** Elon Musk, in a recent podcast interview with Senator Ted Cruz, revealed his top three picks for the smartest individuals he’s ever encountered: Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Larry Page. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO heaped praise on the tech titans, despite a history of rivalry and public disagreements with some of them.
Musk lauded Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, stating, “Jeff Bezos has done a lot of difficult and significant things,” a surprising compliment given their long-standing competition in the space exploration industry. Recent online interactions between the two, however, suggest a potential thawing of their relationship.
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison also received high praise from Musk, who called him “one of the smartest people.” Their close relationship is well-documented, with Ellison providing significant financial support for Musk’s Twitter acquisition and assisting with procuring crucial technology for AI development.
Finally, Musk cited Google co-founder Larry Page, stating that a person’s achievements are a good measure of intelligence. This assessment comes despite the fact that Musk himself has recently experienced a significant downturn in his personal net worth, losing 30% in the past ten weeks, although he remains at the top of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The announcement comes on the heels of previous public criticisms between Musk and Bezos, including Musk’s earlier labeling of Bezos as a “copycat” and jabs at Blue Origin’s lunar plans. Despite this past friction, Musk’s recent comments highlight a shift in his perspective on these influential figures in the tech world.