Bob Moore, still active in his business at age 91, has been a tremendous influence on the healthy food industry for decades. He and his late wife, Charlee, founded Bob’s Red Mill in 1978. The focus was and is on whole grain products with an eye on healthy living.
Moore remains the company’s president, but stepped down as CEO a couple of years ago. He has been very generous to his 600 or so employees, giving them a stake in the company through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Privately held, some estimates put the value of the company north of $100-million.
“Love thy neighbor as thyself ... Do unto others as they would have them do to you, What could be simpler?”
Although most secular news reports fail to mention Moore’s solid Christian faith in any detail, Moore is a committed Christian who efforts to demonstrate his faith as a business leader. But a 2018 article by Forbes does mention: "As a firm Christian, Bob always felt that natural grains were literally 'God’s Gift' to mankind."
Deeper still, here’s a segment from a June 2014 article by Christian News Northwest that gives a good sampling of what drives Moore:
Bob Moore was halfway through his talk to 185 people at a May 13 dinner event when he realized that he needed to re-emphasize a point.
“This is 50 percent of what I’m talking about tonight,” he said. “Give a share of a company’s profits to each employee every month!”
He said doing that is not only scriptural, but it also is a key to why his famed 42-year-old Oregon business — Bob’s Red Mill — has been hugely successful despite major challenges, including a disastrous arson fire in 1988.
“Love thy neighbor as thyself,” said the energetic 85-year-old. “Do unto others as they would have them do to you, What could be simpler?”
For Moore, his giving attitude toward employees is a natural outgrowth of the Christian faith that has guided him and his wife, Charlee, over the years. It inspired the title of his book, People Before Profits. And it made headlines four years ago when Moore announced that he was giving the whole company to his workers using an employee stock ownership plan. [Portland/Christian News Northwest]
A recent CBS News report takes a look at Bob Moore, still at it - and loving it: