Darla Moore, who was invited to join the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club this week along with Condoleezza Rice, is a heavy hitter in her own right. In fact, Fortune once dubbed her the Toughest Babe in Business. In the ’90s, Moore found love, a new career and a reputation in the financial industry by running the portfolio of her billionaire husband, Richard Rainwater. “Don’t mess with Darla,” said Rainwater, who let his glamorous other half chop CEO heads and do his dirty work – to the tune of immense profits. Making history as a pioneer for women’s equality was Moore’s goal, but in a way, she became one when she and Rice became Augusta’s first female members . Since leaving the world of finance, Moore has left a major mark in philanthropy in her native South Carolina, giving over $70 million to the state university. Now 58, she has directed time and big money to try to find a cure for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), the rare brain disease that afflicts Rainwater.
