Background and career
Darla Dee Moore (born August 1, 1954) is an American investor and philanthropist. She is the former president and a partner of the private investment firm Rainwater Inc. and was married to Richard Rainwater, who founded the firm.
Moore was born in Lake City, South Carolina, to Eugene and Loraine Moore. She was one of two daughters and was born on a farm that produced cotton, soybeans, and tobacco. Her father was a schoolteacher and coach and her mother worked at the Methodist Church. In 1972, Moore completed her high school education from Lake City High school. She graduated at the University of South Carolina in 1975 with a BA in political science.
Moore started her career in 1976, working for the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C., but decided that politics was not the field she wanted to pursue. In 1981, Moore then received an MBA from George Washington University and then joined the training program at Chemical Bank. She was a managing director. During the 1980s, Moore made a name for herself while providing debtor-in-possession financing for companies going through the bankruptcy process, specializing in bankruptcy takeovers for the company. In 1996, after running the company that he founded into deep financial trouble, T. Boone Pickens was removed by Moore as the head of Mesa Inc, which mainly dealt with the production of oil and natural gas. Once in control, she made a profit off the company after investing a total of $66 million. Moore was recognized in several media outlets including Forbes, Fortune, Working Woman, Worth, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN. Her cover on Fortune magazine called her "The Toughest Babe in Business". She is credited with dismissing future Florida Governor Rick Scott from Columbia/HCA when a Medicare-related scandal broke.
By 1991, Moore was the highest paid woman in the finance industry. That year, she became vice president of Rainwater, Inc., an investment company founded by her husband Richard Rainwater. She was named president of the company in 1993, and became CEO in 1994. She was known for her tough and decisive business strategy, with CNN Money journalist Patricia Sellers describing her as "a cross between the Terminator and Kim Basinger, with a wicked South Carolina drawl. Upon first meeting, she can come across as a prima donna, tough and aloof. As she warms up she can turn fun and flirty, even girlish, though the shift is deceptive." Moore remained at Rainwater Inc. until 2012.
Moore is one of the board members of The Shed. She has been on the boards of various organizations, including the Hospital Corporation of America, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, South Financial Group, The University of South Carolina, MPS Group, National Advisory Board of JP Morgan, Vice Chair on the Board of Trustees New York University School of Medicine and Hospital, Teach for America, and Lebanese American University of Beirut.
Moore started the nonprofit Darla Moore Foundation, Charleston Parks Conservancy, and the Palmetto Institute, an independent non-profit organization focused on increasing the wealth of every person in South Carolina. The Darla Moore Foundation has supported American Battlefield Trust and the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, which preserves and interprets historical battlegrounds. In 2012, she donated $1 million to Claflin University's music department. When giving this award, Moore stated, "This is an investment, and with investments, you not only expect a return, you do your homework up front to ensure you get a solid return. This is what I desire with my investment- the opportunity to open the door to success to as many young people as possible." In 2021, she established the Darla Moore Scholarship at Francis Marion University through a $5 million gift.
