Founder gifted entire $100,000,000 company to employees after refusing to sell to corporations

Bob Moore, the founder of Bob’s Red Mill, transferred ownership of his $100 million business to employees after refusing to sell to big corporations.

The business owner died on February 10, 2024, at the age of 94 in Milwaukie, Oregon.

During his lifetime, he proved it’s never too late to start a new career, as he started his business, Bob’s Red Mill, aged 49 in 1978. The brand is known for its whole grain products. Moore had previously worked as a gas station owner and a store manager for JCPenny.

Moore did not share details about his net worth, however his business was estimated to have made over $100 million in revenue by 2018, according to Forbes.

The company is a huge success and produces hundreds of products, which are primarily based on whole grains, as well as baking mixes, beans, seeds, nuts, dried fruits, spices and herbs. Bob’s Red Mill were also early adopters and producers of gluten-free flours and baking mixes.

The business attracted a lot of attention from suitors, however Moore told Fortune that because of his love for the company, he would never sell it.

But as Moore and his closest business partners reached the age people typically retire, they knew they needed to come up with a plan to protect the business and its employees.

Even amid countless calls from prospective buyers, Moore didn’t sell. “People continually reach out to me, interested in buying my company, like they’re doing me a great favor,” Moore told Fortune in 2022. “They say they’re going to take it off my hands and give me a lot of money. They’re so enamored with themselves that it became difficult to even answer my phone. They thought I was just a lame-brained idiot because I didn’t want to sell my company. They told me how stupid I was, but you can’t build what I’ve built and be really stupid.”

Moore’s financial partner began reading about a benefit that allows employees to acquire a stake in their company, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).

The decision was made and the ESOP papers were signed on Moore’s 81st birthday in 2010, giving the employees one-third of the company. There were more than 700 employees as of 2020 and by April that year, the business was fully employee-owned, Business Insider reports.

Moore’s approach during his lifetime was to be open about the intricacies of the business. While some managers gloss over parts of the business to try and keep the peace, Moore said there was a lot of ‘open dialogue’ as well as town halls, ‘so employees feel free to contribute their own ideas’.