The stock price of Oracle, a prominent tech firm, has seen remarkable growth this year, doubling its value and experiencing a surge of over 30% in the past week following a strong earnings report. With a current market capitalization exceeding $920 billion, Oracle now holds a higher valuation than major companies like Walmart and JPMorgan Chase. This impressive performance has significantly increased the wealth of Oracle’s shareholders, particularly its founder, Larry Ellison. As the chairman and chief technology officer, Ellison’s fortune has risen to over $350 billion, positioning him alongside Elon Musk as one of the wealthiest individuals globally.
However, it is not solely Ellison who is reaping the rewards. Safra Catz, Oracle’s CEO, has led the company for over ten years, witnessing her net worth increase by more than $400 million in just six hours on Wednesday, bringing her total wealth to $3.4 billion, as reported by Forbes. Catz attributed Oracle’s success to its pivotal role in artificial intelligence (AI) workloads during a recent earnings call. “We have secured significant cloud contracts with leading AI companies, including OpenAI, xAI, Meta, Nvidia, AMD, and others,” she stated.
Under Catz’s guidance, Oracle has solidified its position, making her one of the wealthiest self-made women worldwide. Her career began on Wall Street as an investment banker before she transitioned to Silicon Valley to join Oracle, which relocated to Austin in 2020. Catz has emphasized the importance of innovation and competitiveness in her leadership approach. “We strive to do things differently and not just follow in others’ footsteps,” she told CNBC earlier this year. “Being number one is crucial because it signifies we are the best and addressing our customers’ needs.”
Growth of Oracle and its Leadership
Oracle’s recent stock performance may seem puzzling at first glance. Having been established for over 40 years, the company faces stiff competition in the cloud services sector from giants like IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon. Interestingly, during the latest earnings report, Oracle revealed it had slightly fallen short of earnings and revenue expectations. Nevertheless, investors are optimistic about Oracle’s future, particularly its ambitious plans to increase cloud infrastructure revenue by 14 times, aiming for $144 billion by the fiscal year 2030, a significant rise from the projected $10.3 billion in fiscal year 2025. Furthermore, this week, OpenAI entered into a $300 billion cloud contract with Oracle for the development of data centers over the next five years.
As a significant shareholder with approximately 41% stake in Oracle, Ellison has greatly benefited from the company’s remarkable 450% share price increase over the past five years. The 81-year-old has also accrued considerable wealth from his previous investments in Tesla and his near 50% ownership stake in Paramount Skydance. Catz’s billionaire status is also closely tied to Oracle, as her base salary stands at $950,000, but a substantial portion of her wealth is linked to stock performance. She holds around 1.1 million shares and regularly exercises stock options, having sold options worth approximately $1.8 billion earlier this year, according to Bloomberg.
Leadership Insights from Safra Catz
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Catz obtained her law degree shortly after earning her business degree. Although she chose to pursue a career in finance over law, she reflects positively on that decision. “My best choice was to enter Wall Street instead of law. I gained invaluable insights and focused on the burgeoning software sector as the independent software industry was emerging,” she shared with Time in 2010. Catz believes in fostering an open-minded leadership approach. “Listen, reflect, and be willing to adjust your stance based on new information,” she advised in a 2015 interview with Fortune, emphasizing the importance of valuing employee input in discussions. “If something seems illogical, respect your team by asking challenging questions. Consider their perspectives—sometimes they might be right.”
Looking ahead, the Fortune Global Forum is set to take place on October 26-27, 2025, in Riyadh, where CEOs and global leaders will convene for an exclusive event focused on shaping the future of business.
