But despite the price drop, the consumer electronics industry, which relies largely on semiconductors, pulled in US$1 trillion last year. Global semiconductor sales were US$213 billion, with Intel accounting for US$34.2 billion in sales. The 76-year-old Moore still ranks among the world's wealthiest people with an estimated fortune worth US$4.3 billion.
Moore said that the next 40 years could be "mind-boggling" and that he wished he could be around to see it. He said competition between chipmakers would continue to push progress but urged computer makers and software companies to improve the interfaces on computers and gadgets to make them easier to use.
Intel also had another request on the 40th anniversary of the theorem. Some absent-minded genius at the company has misplaced the original copy of the magazine containing the computer world's founding prophecy. In a post to the online trading site eBay, the company is offering US$10,000 for a copy in mint condition.
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