CEO, Oracle, Redwood Shores, Calif.

As companies bulked up on business software over the past three years, Ellison snapped up 40 acquisitions for $25 billion. That gave him a breadth of offerings few rivals can match. Now he can pinpoint where customers are still spending and tailor packages they need. A top priority is to build on lucrative support contracts. “The highest-margin portion of our business is now the largest portion of our business,” he says. Oracle’s operating profits stand at 46% of sales, among the best in tech. No wonder its shares closed 2008 down only 21%—half as bad as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes.