Largest Gift in History to a College

  • Education
  • 2001

In 2001, Gordon Moore, the co-founder of chip manufacturer Intel and author of many scientific papers and patents on semiconductors, gave the California Institute of Technology a massive $600 million gift to keep that institution, which he described as a “national treasure,” on the forefront of science and tech research. The college announced that a portion of the gift would go to its endowment, but most would be spent for research projects and the hiring of new investigators. It became the largest donation ever to a single college or university. Moore has made many other gifts to Caltech as well, most recently $100 million in 2015 for a fund that will eventually provide fellowships for every Caltech graduate student. He also served on the university’s board of trustees for decades.