When people search for Safra Catz and John Stankey, they usually want one thing: who are these two executives, and how much power do they hold? Both spent decades inside one company and rose to the top. Neither came from the startup-founder world.
Catz is known for turning Oracle into a deal-making, cash-generating machine. Stankey is known for steering AT&T away from Hollywood and back to its core: connectivity. This guide covers their backgrounds, careers, net worth and 2026 positions in plain English.
Quick Bio Table
| Detail | Safra Catz | John Stankey |
| Full Name | Safra Ada Catz | John T. Stankey |
| Age (Oct 2026) | 64 | About 63 to 64 (born 1962) |
| Date of Birth | December 1961 | Exact date not widely published |
| Birthplace | Holon, Israel | United States |
| Nationality | American (Israeli-born) | American |
| Profession | Executive Vice Chair, Oracle | Chairman & CEO, AT&T |
| Education | Law and finance background | Loyola Marymount University; MBA, UCLA |
| Estimated Net Worth | Roughly 145M–164M (disclosed Oracle stake) | Roughly $34M (disclosed AT&T stake) |
Net worth figures are estimates based on disclosed shares and move with stock prices.
Who Is Safra Catz?
Safra Ada Catz was born in December 1961 in Holon, Israel, and she holds U.S. citizenship. She is one of the most recognised women in global tech finance. Her name sits alongside Larry Ellison’s in almost every Oracle story.
Before tech, she worked as a banker. She was a managing director at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, advising technology companies, before joining Oracle. That deal-advisory experience shaped how she later ran the company.
Forbes ranked her 17th on its 2024 list of the World’s Most Powerful Women.
Featured snippet: Is Safra Catz still Oracle’s CEO?
No. Catz has been Oracle’s Executive Vice Chair since September 2025, after serving as CEO from September 2014 to September 2025. She remains on the board.
How Safra Catz Built Her Career at Oracle
Catz’s rise was steady, not flashy. Here is the timeline:
- 1999: Joins Oracle as a senior vice president.
- 2004: Becomes President.
- 2005–2008 and 2011–2014: Serves as Chief Financial Officer in separate stints.
- 2014: Becomes co-CEO alongside Mark Hurd after Larry Ellison steps back from the CEO role.
- 2019: Becomes sole CEO after Hurd’s death.
- 2025: Moves to Executive Vice Chair.
Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia were named co-CEOs, with Magouyrk coming from Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Sicilia from Oracle Industries. The choice shows where Oracle wants to go: cloud and AI.
Her pay drew headlines too. In 2022, her total Oracle compensation was $138 million, making her the sixth highest-paid CEO in the US that year.
Outside Oracle, she serves as a director of Paramount Skydance and previously sat on Disney’s board.
Catz’s Net Worth in 2026
Catz’s wealth is mostly Oracle stock. Public filings show about 1.12 million shares, valued near $145 million at the end of July 2026. A late-June snapshot put the same stake at about $164 million.
Why the gap? Oracle’s share price moves a lot. Her total wealth, including past pay and other holdings, is likely higher than these stake-only figures.
Who Is John Stankey?
John T. Stankey has been AT&T’s chief executive since July 2020. He took over from Randall Stephenson and now also chairs the board.
He earned an undergraduate degree at Loyola Marymount University and an MBA at UCLA. He is a classic “insider CEO.” Most of his working life has been inside the AT&T family.
John Stankey’s Climb Through AT&T
Stankey’s path touched almost every part of the business:
- Early career: Joins the Bell system roots of today’s AT&T in the mid-1980s.
- 2000s–2010s: Runs major units, including operations, services and the entertainment group.
- 2018: Becomes CEO of WarnerMedia after AT&T buys Time Warner.
- 2020: Named AT&T CEO. He previously held roles including AT&T president and COO.
- 2021–2022: Leads the WarnerMedia spin-off and merger with Discovery.
That last move defined his legacy. Many investors saw the media experiment as a distraction, and Stankey reversed course.
What is John Stankey’s net worth?
Quick answer: John Stankey’s disclosed AT&T stock is worth roughly $34 million as of mid-2026.
Filings show about 1.47 million AT&T shares, valued at about $34 million on 31 July 2026. His salary, bonuses and stock awards add to this over time.
Some blogs claim $100 million or more. Those sites rarely show their math, so treat them with care. Share-based estimates are more reliable, though they ignore cash and property.
Safra Catz and John Stankey Compared
Both are long-serving insiders who rose through finance and strategy. Their jobs, though, are very different in 2026.
| Factor | Safra Catz | John Stankey |
| Company | Oracle (software, cloud, AI infrastructure) | AT&T (telecom: fiber, 5G) |
| 2026 Title | Executive Vice Chair | Chairman & CEO |
| Years at current firm | Since 1999 | Decades inside AT&T |
| Core strength | M&A, finance, operations | Network strategy, restructuring |
| Signature move | Building Oracle’s acquisition engine | Refocusing AT&T on fiber and wireless |
| Day-to-day control | Board-level strategy | Full operational control |
| Region of impact | Global enterprise tech | Mostly U.S., with Latin America |
The simplest summary: Catz handed off daily control, while Stankey holds it.
What Stankey Changed Inside AT&T
Stankey’s biggest shift was strategic. He cut the media bets and put capital into networks.
Key changes under Stankey:
- Exit from media: WarnerMedia was separated and merged with Discovery.
- Fiber push: AT&T closed its $5.75 billion purchase of Lumen’s consumer fiber business on 2 February 2026, adding 1.1 million customers and over 4 million fiber locations.
- Spectrum buildup: AT&T’s $23 billion EchoStar spectrum deal was expected to close by the end of July 2026.
- Convergence strategy: Sell fiber and mobile together. Excluding Lumen customers, 45% of AT&T’s home internet customers also take its wireless service.
- New reporting: AT&T now reports under three segments: advanced connectivity, legacy and Latin America.
Is it working? The numbers look decent. Q1 2026 revenue rose 2.9% to $31.51 billion, though profit slightly missed expectations.
He is also pointing to AI demand. Stankey argues symmetrical fiber networks, with equal upload and download speeds, will matter for AI workloads.
Safra Catz and John Stankey: A Side-by-Side Look
Here is a quick 2026 snapshot for readers who want the facts fast:
| Metric | Safra Catz (Oracle) | John Stankey (AT&T) |
| Current role | Executive Vice Chair | Chairman & CEO |
| Stake value (mid-2026) | ~145M–164M | ~$34M |
| Big 2026 theme | AI cloud under new co-CEOs | Fiber, spectrum, convergence |
| Other boards | Paramount Skydance | UPS and others |
| Leadership style | Deal-focused, finance-first | Operator, network-first |
| Public profile | Very high, global | High in telecom and business media |
Notice how different the wealth levels are. Oracle’s stock surge made Catz’s stake much larger, even though AT&T is a bigger employer.
Where Each Leader Stands in 2026
Catz: She is no longer running Oracle day to day, but she is not gone. She sits on the board and works with Larry Ellison on direction. Her outside board work shows she is still in demand.
Stankey: He is in the middle of his biggest bet. AT&T is absorbing Lumen’s fiber, integrating EchoStar spectrum and retiring old copper lines.
AT&T plans to add 8 million fiber locations in 2026, its largest fiber year ever. The company has 12.5 million fiber subscribers. It targets more than 60 million fiber locations by the end of the decade.
There are risks too. Debt leverage is expected to rise to about 3.2 times after the EchoStar deal, then ease back toward 2.5 times over roughly three years.
Global relevance: Oracle serves enterprises in nearly every region, including Pakistan, India and the Gulf. AT&T is mainly U.S.-focused, but its fiber and spectrum moves are watched worldwide as a model for telecom turnarounds.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Safra Catz?
Safra Catz is 64 years old. She was born in December 1961 in Holon, Israel.
Is Safra Catz still the CEO of Oracle?
No. She became Executive Vice Chair in September 2025. Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia now serve as co-CEOs.
What is Safra Catz’s net worth?
Her disclosed Oracle shares were worth roughly $145 million to $164 million in mid-2026. The number changes with Oracle’s stock price.
Who is John Stankey?
John Stankey is the Chairman and CEO of AT&T. He became CEO in July 2020 after leading WarnerMedia and serving as AT&T’s president and COO.
What is John Stankey’s net worth?
His disclosed AT&T shares were worth about $34 million in July 2026. Other estimates vary and are less reliable.
What did John Stankey change at AT&T?
He moved AT&T away from media and into fiber and wireless. Key steps include the Lumen fiber deal and the EchoStar spectrum purchase.
What is the difference between Safra Catz and John Stankey?
Catz is a finance-led executive who now works at board level at Oracle. Stankey is an operations-led CEO running AT&T daily.
Where did John Stankey study?
He studied at Loyola Marymount University and earned an MBA at UCLA.
Are Safra Catz and John Stankey connected?
Not directly. They lead different industries. They are often compared because both are long-serving insiders who rose to the top.
Physical Stats
Neither executive has publicly shared height, weight or eye colour, and no reliable sources list them.
| Stat | Safra Catz | John Stankey |
| Height | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed |
| Weight | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed |
| Eye colour | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed |
Be wary of any site that lists exact figures. They are usually guesses.
Final Thoughts
Safra Catz and John Stankey show two paths to the top: one through finance and deals, the other through operations and networks. In 2026, Catz has moved to the board of an AI-cloud giant, while Stankey is mid-build on one of the biggest telecom bets in the U.S.
If you follow Oracle leadership, watch how Catz’s influence evolves under the co-CEOs. If you follow AT&T leadership, watch fiber growth, the EchoStar integration and debt levels.Bottom line: Catz has the larger disclosed stake, but Stankey has the bigger operational challenge. Both stories are worth tracking through the rest of 2026.
