The 50 most powerful people in the world

Oracle

Title: Founder and executive chairman, Oracle

Country: US

Age: 71

Oracle’s billionaire cofounder Larry Ellison stepped down as the company’s CEO last year but hasn’t pumped the brakes: He still serves as chairman and CTO of the $38 billion (sales) database and software titan. Ellison announced plans this year for Oracle to take over as the primary provider of cloud-computing products and services, revealing at the company’s tech conference in October that 20% of its customers — and counting — bought tech via the cloud rather than traditionally.

Ellison, who routinely ranks as one of the 10 richest people in the world, holds a fortune of nearly $50 billion and a growing real-estate portfoliothat spans the globe. His latest side project? Reviving the sport of tennis through investments at the “fifth grand slam” site in Indian Wells, California, and as lead sponsor for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Ellison is determined to “restore tennis to prominence in the US and make the game more profitable globally” — something he also recently accomplished with sailing.