Darla Moore Net Worth & Biography

Darla Dee More is a successful American entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. She is a pioneering businesswoman in the banking industry in South Carolina, and many consider her a benefactor in many institutions based in the state. She is the former president of the private investment firm Rainwater Incorporated and was married to Mr. Richard Rainwater, who founded the company. Born in Lake City, South Carolina, Dee attended George Washington University and the University of South Carolina. After graduating from the University of South Carolina with her Political Science degree, she started working for the Republican National Committee in Washington DC. It was in the year 1991 that she married the founder of Rainwater Incorporated. Two years later, she became the firm’s president. In 1998 and 1999, Fortune magazine named her among the 50 Most Powerful Women In Business. More details follow below.

Early Life: Childhood, Education

Darla Moore was born on August 1, 1954, in Lake City, South Carolina, United States, to Eugene and Loraine Moore. She and her sister, the only children of the family, were born on a farm that produced tobacco, cotton, and soybean. Her mother worked at the Methodist Church while her father was a coach and schoolteacher. Her sister’s name is Lisa Moore.

After completing her high school education at Lake City High School in 1972, Moore enrolled at the University of South Carolina, graduating in 1975 with a BA in political science.

Professional Life: Business Career

After earning her BA in political science, Darla Moore started working at the Republican National Committee’s office in Washington, D.C. but decided to leave politics because it wasn’t the field she wanted to pursue.

In 1981 completed an MBA from George Washington University and joined a training program at the Chemical Bank where she was later made vice-chair and subsequently, the bank’s managing director.

In 1996, after running his company, Mesa Inc., into deep financial trouble, Darla Moore replaced T. Boone Pickens and controlled the company which mainly dealt with the production of oil and gas to make a profit after investing a total of $66 million in it.

Darla More married Mr. Richard Rainwater in 1991. In the years that followed, she took charge of his company, Rainwater, Inc. She served as vice president of the company before assuming the position of president.

She started the Darla Moore Foundation and also the Charleston Parks Conservancy. She has also served on the boards of various organizations, including The University of South Carolina, Teach for America, Hospital Organization of America, South Financial Group, National Advisory Board of JP Morgan, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, MPS Group, and New York University School of Medicine.

Achievements: Awards & Honors

Ms. Moore has been recognized in several media outlets including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Working Woman, and Worth. She was called “The Toughest Babe in Business” by Fortune magazine when she appeared on the cover of an edition. In 1998 and 1999, Fortune listed her as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women In Business.

In 1998, she was honored with the Order of the Palmetto. The South Carolina Chamber of commerce named her Business Leader of the Year in 2005, and in 2007, she was elected into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame.

She is the first woman to appear on the cover of Forbes magazine and was also listed as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in American Business by the publication. In 2012, Darla Moore and Condoleezza Rice, a former Secretary of State, became the first two women to obtain membership in Augusta National Golf Club.

Personal Life

Darla Moore and Richard Rainwater met on a business trip to Texas and were married in New York City in 1991. They started living separately in 2001, he lived in Texas and California while she lived in South Carolina. In March 2011, a court declared Richard incapacitated as a result of a disease known as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) which he lived with until his death on September 27, 2015.

Since around 2008, Darla Moore spends most of her time in a Lake City house that was built on a plantation that has been owned by the Moore family for six generations. In recent years she has invested over $100 million into the city. She also owns homes in South Carolina, New York City, and California. Her hobbies include being a collector of mostly rare books and 18th-century French furniture.

Philanthropy

Also a noted philanthropist who has a deep concern for her environment and for those around her, Darla Moore has given many gifts to several institutions that benefit the public. Beneficiaries of her kindness include the University of South Carolina’s business school which is now renamed the Moore School of Business, the Wachovia Scholars Business (for high school students to attend), the Palmetto Institute (an independent non-profit she founded in 2002), the School of Education at Clemson University, the McNair Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research Center at the University of South Carolina, Claflin University Music Department, the ArtFields Art Festival, and many others.

Darla Moore Net Worth

Popularly known to have graced the pages and websites of many publications and media houses due to her many contributions and outstanding success in business, the American businesswoman Darla Moore is currently estimated to be worth the sum of $3 billion dollars. An Alumna of the University of South Carolina and George Washington University, Darla Moore is considered one of the most powerful and influential women in business. She’s also noted for her generosity having given away over a hundred million dollars in the name of charity. She resides in a Lake City and also owns properties in South Carolina, New York City, and California.