Why Oracle is the Shadowy Tech Giant You Should Fear More Than BlackRock

In the world of corporate titans, names like BlackRock often dominate conversations about behind-the-scenes power and influence. They are the usual suspects in narratives about global strings being pulled from shadowy boardrooms. But while our attention is fixed on them, another, far more insidious power is consolidating its influence under the radar. That company is Oracle, and there's a compelling argument that what it's becoming is far more concerning.

Just recently, Oracle's founder, Larry Ellison, briefly became the world's richest person, not because his company delivered stellar results, but precisely the opposite. Oracle reported lower-than-projected earnings, yet its market value skyrocketed by over 30% in a single day—a gain larger than the entire market cap of McDonald's. This bizarre financial event wasn't an anomaly; it was a signal. It was the result of a masterfully crafted narrative around Artificial Intelligence, one that Oracle is leveraging to execute a breathtaking power grab across technology, media, and politics. This article peels back the layers of financial maneuvering, political influence, and strategic acquisitions to reveal why Oracle is not just the next big tech story, but a looming force that will affect your life, whether you realize it or not.

What Exactly Is Oracle?

Core Definition and Misconceptions

For most of its nearly 50-year history, Oracle has been the definition of a legacy tech giant—a reliable, if unexciting, provider of enterprise software and database management systems. If you haven't worked in corporate IT or data management, you might have no idea what the company actually does. Its primary business involved selling "boring software subscriptions to boring enterprise customers," carving out a stable, low-growth niche for itself. The industry reputation even suggested they weren't particularly exceptional at this core business. Investors treated it as a mature, predictable incumbent, not a disruptive force.

However, this perception is now dangerously outdated. Over the last year, Oracle has undergone a radical transformation, effectively rebranding itself as a "born-again AI startup". The core misconception today is viewing Oracle through its old lens. The company has aggressively pivoted to become a key player in AI infrastructure, building massive data centers and selling access to companies that need immense computing power for their AI models. This strategic shift has allowed Oracle to shed its "ancient" image and embrace the exuberance and astronomical valuations typically reserved for agile, high-growth startups. The old, boring Oracle is gone; in its place is a company wielding AI hype as its primary weapon for growth and influence.

Why Oracle's Growing Power Is So Important

The importance of Oracle today extends far beyond its balance sheet; it lies in the unprecedented consolidation of influence across critical sectors of modern life. The company is no longer just a software vendor; it is becoming a central nervous system for data, media, and political access, creating a nexus of power that few organizations can rival.

First, Oracle is positioning itself to be a gatekeeper of the digital public square. Through a government-monitored deal, Oracle was selected to take over operational control of TikTok's US arm, including its all-important algorithm and sensitive user data. This gives a single corporation, with deep political ties, immense influence over the information flow to millions of Americans. While a US company controlling this data might seem preferable to a Chinese one, the opaque and seemingly favorable terms of the deal raise serious questions about fairness and the role of political lobbying.

Second, Oracle is playing a pivotal role in sustaining the current AI investment bubble. Its staggering financial figures, built on a handful of massive, potentially circular deals, help create the illusion of an infinitely expanding market. This not only distorts market realities but also concentrates infrastructural power, as more and more AI development becomes dependent on Oracle's cloud services.

Finally, through the strategic acquisitions of the Ellison family, this technological power is merging with traditional media control. Larry Ellison's son, David Ellison, heads Skydance Media, which has already taken over Paramount and is reportedly targeting Warner Bros.. This could create one of the largest media conglomerates in history, controlled by the same family that holds sway over a major social media algorithm and a foundational piece of the AI ecosystem. This trifecta of power—social media, traditional media, and AI infrastructure—is why Oracle's ascent isn't just a business story; it's a development with profound implications for society.

How Oracle's Financials Work: A House of Cards?

The recent surge in Oracle's value, which has propelled it into the center of the AI universe, is built on financial figures so staggering they almost defy belief. Understanding how these numbers work is key to understanding the company's entire strategy. It appears to be a brilliant, albeit fragile, house of cards built on paper value to grab real-world power.

The engine of this boom is a single, headline-grabbing announcement: Oracle had secured almost half a trillion dollars ($455 billion) in backlogged orders from AI companies. This number alone fueled the stock surge, as everything else in the company's financial report was "underwhelming at best". Investors, eager not to miss out on "the next Nvidia," piled in, ignoring the troubling details hidden in plain sight.

There are three major problems with this half-trillion-dollar figure:

Unsustainable Spending: An investment of $455 billion from just a few contracts represents more than 2% of the entire US GDP. For this level of spending to be rational, generative AI needs to do more than create "handy little technologies"; it must "radically reshape the world" in a tangible, economically productive way. As skepticism grows about AI's immediate disruptive scale, the sustainability of such colossal commitments is highly questionable.

Extreme Client Concentration:Buried in the financial letter is the admission that this massive backlog comes from just four contracts with three clients. This means each client is committing, on average, over $150 billion. The logical question is why companies with that much capital wouldn't simply build their own data centers instead of renting from Oracle.

A Circular Flow of Money: The answer to that question reveals the most alarming part of the scheme. The biggest client, responsible for over $300 billion of the backlog, is OpenAI. The problem? OpenAI doesn't have $300 billion. To fulfill this commitment, it needs massive infusions of investor cash. Coincidentally, at the same time, major AI players like Nvidia announced a hundred-billion-dollar investment into OpenAI, specifically to help build out its computer infrastructure through deals like the one with Oracle. Here's the kicker: Oracle, in turn, is building its new AI data centers using billions of dollars worth of Nvidia's GPUs.

This creates a closed loop: Investor money (from companies like Nvidia) flows into OpenAI, which then shows up as massive deferred revenue on Oracle's books, which in turn uses that perceived financial strength to buy more hardware from Nvidia. This circular flow makes all companies involved look far more successful and promising than they might actually be, attracting even more outside investment and keeping the AI bubble inflated.

How Oracle Uses Its Influence in Real Life

Oracle's inflated paper value isn't just for show; it's a currency being used to acquire tangible, real-world assets and influence. Larry Ellison and his company have a long history of leveraging wealth for political power, spending millions annually on lobbying and political donations. Ellison himself was a major, if low-key, spender in the last election cycle, and senior Oracle executives have held key positions within the government. This investment in political capital appears to be yielding staggering returns.

The most glaring example is the acquisition of TikTok's U.S. operations. Amid national security concerns, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, was compelled to sell its American arm in a deal heavily monitored by the U.S. government. Oracle was "selected and approved" as the technology partner to handle the new platform on its cloud infrastructure. This move gifts Oracle influence over TikTok's powerful algorithm and access to its vast trove of sensitive user data. The tender process was criticized for its opacity, and the reported $14 billion valuation is considered a fraction of its true worth—conservatively, it should be worth ten times more when compared to rivals like Instagram based on US sales alone. This lucrative, seemingly non-competitive deal followed years of dedicated political lobbying, suggesting a clear return on investment.

This influence extends beyond tech into the realm of traditional media, orchestrated by the Ellison family. Larry Ellison's son, David Ellison, founded Skydance Media in 2010 with $350 million in seed capital from his father and associates. The company has expanded at a breathtaking pace, taking over media giant Paramount and now reportedly eyeing an acquisition of Warner Bros.. If successful, this would create one of the largest media conglomerates in history, started just 15 years ago with a significant boost from Oracle's wealth. This cozy relationship between government, tech, and media has already raised eyebrows, especially around events like the coincidental cancellation of a critical show at the same time major deals were being assessed.

The Future of Oracle: A Media-Tech Dynasty

The future trajectory of Oracle points toward an unprecedented consolidation of power, culminating in what could be described as a media-tech dynasty. The separate threads of AI infrastructure, social media control, and traditional media ownership are poised to weave together under a single family's influence, creating a hybrid entity reminiscent of a "Rupert Murdoch mixed with Mark Zuckerberg".

The key to this future lies in both synergy and succession. On the synergy front, David Ellison has been a vocal proponent of using AI to cut costs in movie production—a move described as one of the worst-use cases for the technology. This directly aligns with Oracle's heavy investment in AI, creating a vertically integrated ecosystem where the family's tech company provides the AI infrastructure that powers the family's media empire. This allows for efficiencies and control that competitors cannot easily replicate.

The succession piece is even more critical. Larry Ellison is 81 years old. While the exact details of his estate are private, it is widely assumed that he will pass down his significant influence over Oracle to his son, David. This would mean that one man could potentially hold controlling influence over one of the world's largest social media platforms (TikTok US), one of the largest traditional media conglomerates (Paramount-Skydance, potentially including Warner Bros.), and a foundational provider of AI cloud infrastructure (Oracle).

Unlike highly visible companies like Disney or Facebook, Oracle and Skydance have remained relatively low-key to the average person. This lack of public scrutiny has allowed them to assemble this powerful combination of assets without widespread alarm. The future, therefore, holds the challenge of a single, unelected entity having immense control over the information we consume, the entertainment we watch, and the underlying technology that powers our digital lives. They could soon become just as important, if not more so, than any tech or media giant we know today.

Conclusion: Key Takeaways on Oracle's Silent Rise

The story of Oracle's recent transformation is a critical lesson in how modern power is built. It's a multi-act play involving financial wizardry, astute political maneuvering, and strategic acquisitions. The key takeaways are clear and concerning. First, Oracle masterfully used the AI hype to generate immense paper value from almost nothing, spinning underwhelming financials into a narrative of explosive growth built on a handful of questionable, circular contracts.

Second, the company is expertly converting this speculative, on-paper wealth into hard, real-world assets with immense strategic value. By securing control over TikTok's U.S. operations at a bargain price and moving to dominate the traditional media landscape through family connections, Oracle is grabbing tangible power that will outlast any tech bubble.

Finally, this all culminates in the potential creation of a dynastic concentration of power, where one family could simultaneously influence a top social media platform, a legacy media empire, and the AI infrastructure underpinning our future. While companies like BlackRock get the headlines for their financial influence, Oracle is building something far more integrated and potentially more frightening: a silent empire of technology and information. They may operate in the background, but their importance is growing, and it's time we started paying attention.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Oracle

1. What does Oracle actually do?

Oracle has historically been an enterprise software company, providing database technology and cloud systems for large businesses. Recently, however, it has aggressively rebranded itself as a major player in Artificial Intelligence, focusing on building and renting out massive AI data center infrastructure to other companies.

2. Is Oracle's AI business financially sustainable?

There are significant questions about its sustainability. Oracle's massive reported backlog of AI orders (nearly half a trillion dollars) comes from just three clients and relies on spending levels that may be unsustainable. Furthermore, evidence suggests a circular flow of money, where investments are shuffled between Oracle, its clients like OpenAI, and its suppliers like Nvidia, making the companies appear more valuable than they are to attract more outside investors.

3. How is Oracle's influence different from a company like BlackRock?

While a company like BlackRock wields immense financial influence through asset management, Oracle's power is becoming more direct and structural. Oracle is consolidating control over the actual infrastructure of information—gaining influence over a major social media algorithm (TikTok), aiming to control a massive traditional media conglomerate (Paramount/Warner Bros.), and owning the AI data centers that will power future technology. This combines financial, political, and cultural power in a unique way.

4. How did Oracle get control of TikTok's US operations?

Oracle was "selected and approved" by the U.S. government to take over the management of TikTok's U.S. data and algorithm after its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, was forced to sell. This decision followed years of extensive political lobbying by Oracle and its founder, Larry Ellison. The deal was seen as highly favorable to Oracle, with the company acquiring the platform at a valuation widely considered to be well below its market value.

5. What is the biggest long-term risk of Oracle's strategy?

The biggest long-term risk is the unprecedented concentration of media, social media, and technological power within a single family, the Ellisons. With Larry Ellison's son, David, controlling a growing media empire (Skydance/Paramount) and likely to inherit influence over Oracle, one man could soon have significant sway over what we watch, what we see on social media, and the AI that shapes our digital experiences. This creates a "Murdoch meets Zuckerberg" scenario with profound implications for democracy and the free flow of information.