Gordon Moore (1929- ) – Businessman & Philanthropist
Gordon Moore, raised in Pescadero, California, received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1950 and a PhD in Chemistry and minor in Physics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1954. He completed his postdoctoral research at the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in 1956. Moore joined Caltech alumnus William Shockley at the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory division of Bechman Instruments, but left with the “traitorous eight,” when Sherman Fairchild agreed to back them and created the influential Fairchild Semiconductor corporation. In 1968, Moore co-founded NM Electronics which later became Intel Corporation with Robert Noyce. He served as Executive Vice President until 1975 when he became President. In 1979, Moore became Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, holding that position until 1987, when he became Chairman of the Board. In 1997, he was named Chairman Emeritus of Intel Corporation.
In 2001, Moore and his wife, Betty, donated $600 million to Caltech, the largest gift ever to an institution of higher education. He said that he wants the gift to be used to keep Caltech at the forefront of research and technology. In 2000, he and his wife endowed the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The Foundation awarded $170 million in grants for green projects in one year alone. In 2007, Moore and his wife donated $200 million to Caltech and the University of California for the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope, the world’s largest optical telescope.
We honor Gordon Moore because his philanthropic work makes him a Legacy Champ. If you want to be a Legacy Champ in your own special way, then contact The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. for a free initial consultation on estate planning, trust planning, and/or probate issues.
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