The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, based in Palo Alto, is one of the nation’s largest philanthropic foundations. It was founded by Gordon and Betty Moore in 2000 to create positive outcomes for future generations. Their mission is to advance scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and the special character of the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 1965, Gordon Moore made a rule-of-thumb prediction that later became known as Moore’s Law. As a founder of Intel, he helped shape what we now recognize as Silicon Valley and the technology sector more broadly. Betty Moore’s personal commitment to improving the experience of patients and the couple’s desire to expand knowledge, conserve the natural world, and preserve all that makes the Bay Area special guides the organization’s work.
About the project
In 2025, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary and released the first installment of the oral history project. Originally conceived in 2021, this multiphase set of interviews was designed to record the institutional history that is not documented in the normal course of a foundation's operations. The first phase was to capture recollections from some of the earliest- and longest-standing trustees of the Moore Foundation Board who were stepping down from board service.
Former trustees Bruce Alberts, Jim Gaither, Paul Gray, Ed Penhoet, and Ken Siebel provide insights about Gordon and Betty Moore’s vision for the organization and decisions made about the organization’s strategic direction. In follow-up interviews, we recorded the perspectives and experiences of the available foundation presidents, including both Ed Penhoet and Paul Gray, as well as Steve McCormick and Harvey Fineberg.
The goal of the project for these and subsequent phases is to produce a record of the foundation’s history, shed light on discussions around the decision-making of the board and executive leadership, demonstrate the throughlines between the founders’ intent and the foundation’s mission, and provide additional context surrounding the foundation’s grantmaking for the benefit of the public and for researchers, foundation staff, leadership and trustees, today and into the future.
Bruce Alberts on Gordon Moore supporting marine science
Harvey Fineberg on adaptive management
James Gaither on revamping the board
Paul Gray on the challenges of measurement
Steve McCormick on the context of innovation