On March 15, 1986 - nearly a decade after the founding of the company - Oracle made an initial public stock offering of 2.1 million shares on the NASDAQ exchange. At the time, the company had 450 employees and annual revenue of US$55 million. Twenty years later, Oracle has a global workforce of 65,000 and annual revenue topping US$15 billion. In October 2006, CEO Larry Ellison and Presidents Charles Phillips and Safra Catz joined senior NASDAQ executives in San Francisco to celebrate a 20-year partnership on the exchange— a partnership that has paid off well for both Oracle and investors. “A $10,000 investment in the initial public offering of Oracle back in 1986 would now be worth $4,082,280,” says Ellison, referring to the stock’s closing price that day.
Brash software titan still at helm of Oracle Systems, database outfit he cofounded 30 years ago. Reshaping the industry with a massive shopping spree; spent $19 billion buying 21 software companies in past 3 years. Biggest acquisitions: PeopleSoft for $11 billion, Siebel Systems for $5.9 billion. Deals added $4.6 billion to company's annual revenue, 18,000 to employee count. Combination makes Oracle, already strong in database management, a big player in business applications like accounting and personnel. Now stitching it all together into software suite Fusion for release by 2008. Predicts earnings will grow 20% a year for the rest of the decade. Chicago native studied physics at U of Chicago; didn't graduate. Started Oracle in 1977. Took public in 1986, a day before Microsoft. Companies have been fiercely competitive ever since. Spends lots of time on distractions: tweaking his 40-acre Japanese-style estate, cruising on his 453-foot yacht, Rising Sun (world's second largest). Plans to sail in 2007 America's Cup in Spain. "Life is short. I'm not going to spend every minute of it with Oracle." Recently rescinded a $100 million gift to Harvard University. Has yet to announce where the funds will go; must give the money away as part of an insider trading suit settlement. Turned blasé on being a billionaire: "Money is just a method of keeping score now. I certainly don't need more money. No one needs this much money."
