College Gets Millions From ‘Toughest Babe’

A woman dubbed by Fortune magazine as “The Toughest Babe in Business” handed her alma mater $25 million - and a challenge - Friday.

Investment banker Darla Moore’s gift is the largest ever to the University of South Carolina. She becomes the first woman to have her name on the business school of a major university.

“I’m not just giving you money South Carolina,” said Moore, 43. “I’m giving you a commission.”

After graduation, Moore went on to Chemical Bank in New York in 1981 and made a name for herself in the bank’s bankruptcy financing arm. She now runs Rainwater Inc. - husband Richard Rainwater’s investment company - and took over the couple’s stock portfolio.