Co-founder of Intel Corporation and author of Moore's Law. Created the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which has donated over $5 billion to science, environmental conservation, and healthcare. Died March 24, 2023.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has given more than $500 million in grants to protect over 400 million hectares of historic forest cover in the Andes-Amazon region including Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Suriname. Additionally, the foundation gave $395 million to Conservation International, the largest gift ever to a private conservation organization.
Gordon and Betty Moore signed the Giving Pledge in 2012, committing to give away at least half their wealth. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has donated more than $5.1 billion to charitable causes since its founding in 2000. In their pledge letter, they noted: 'In 2001 we devoted half of our wealth to create a foundation that would take risks in order to innovate and achieve meaningful results.'
On October 18, 2010, Gordon Moore donated $1 million to the 'No on Prop 23' campaign. Proposition 23 would have suspended California's Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) until unemployment dropped to 5.5% or below. The measure was defeated by 23%, protecting the state's greenhouse gas emission controls. This demonstrated Moore's strong support for climate legislation despite opposition from oil companies.