Ruth Porat was born in 1957 in Hertfordshire, England, to a Jewish family. Her father, Roger Porat, was an Israeli-American economics professor who taught at Stanford University, and the family relocated to the United States during her early years, where she was raised in Palo Alto, California. Porat pursued higher education at Stanford University, earning a B.A. in political science in 1979, followed by an M.Sc. in industrial relations from the London School of Economics and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1986. Porat began her professional career as a corporate lawyer at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett before transitioning to investment banking at Morgan Stanley in 1996. She advanced through various roles, including head of the financial institutions group, and served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2010 to 2015. Prior to joining Alphabet, Porat was a lead advisor to the U.S. Treasury on the 2008 financial crisis and the fallout from the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS) scandal. In May 2015, she joined Alphabet Inc. and Google as CFO, a position she held until 2024, during which she oversaw significant financial restructuring and cost-cutting measures. As of 2024, Porat serves as President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google, focusing on investment strategy and other ventures like X, the Moonshot Factory.