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San Diego Metropolitan cover story on John Moores

John J. Moores (1944—) is an American businessman.

Moores was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas and grew up poor. He left Texas A&M University before graduating and became a programmer for IBM. Later, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Houston. Moores considers his decision to attend law school "a boneheaded move" since he never wanted to practice law in the first place.

He founded BMC Software in Texas in 1980 and was the lead venture capital financier for Peregrine Systems in California starting in 1981. He served as a director of Peregrine from March 1989 to March 2003 and as Chairman of the Board from March 1990 through July 2000 and from May 2002 through March 2003. He resigned as Peregrine chairman in February 2003 as part of the company's Chapter 11 reorganization. He also founded JMI Equity. In 1994 Moores purchased the San Diego Padres professional baseball team from Tom Werner.

Moores and his wife Rebecca, whom he met in college, have four grown children, two biological and two adoptive. They live in San Diego, California and have contributed to several philanthropic and political organizations.

Organizations that Moores has supported include the ACLU, the San Diego Zoo, San Diego State University, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Center for Children, St. Vincent de Paul Villages, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and The Scripps Research Institute for Childhood and Neglected Diseases where Moores sits on the board.

His 1991 contribution of $51 million to the University of Houston was the largest in U.S. history to a public university. He served on the Board of Regents of the University of Houston from 1991 to 1994. Moores also gave $21 million to the University of California San Diego and over $20 million to San Diego State University. In 1999 he was appointed Regent of the University of California by Governor Gray Davis until he resigned for unknown reasons in 2007. As UC regent, he has worked to make sure Proposition 209 (passed in 1996) is implemented. In 2005 he was elected chair of the Carter Center at Emory University, succeeding Jimmy Carter.

Moores is also the founder of the River Blindness Foundation.

• 1996: Donor of the Year by the National Association of Athletic Development Directors
• 1997: San Diego Jackie Robinson YMCA Human Dignity Award

• University of Houston - biography
• "Batting Cleanup", San Diego Metropolitan (Sept. 1996) by Ron Donoho Cover story about John Moores
• Alan Zarembo, "Putting Them to the Test", Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2004. Retrieved July 23, 2006.