Phil Knight & family
Overview
- Source of Wealth
- Nike
- Industry
- Fashion & Retail
- Residence
- Hillsboro, Oregon
- Organization
- Cofounder at Nike
- Education
- Stanford Graduate School of Business (Master of Business Administration)University of Oregon (Bachelor of Arts/Science)
- Marital Status
- Married
- Children
- 3
Assets
- Nike304,797,000 shares @ $42.89$13,072,743,330NKE-US
Biography
Phil Knight, cofounder of shoe giant Nike, retired as chairman in 2016 after 52 years at the company.
Knight ran track at the University of Oregon and created Nike shoes with his former track coach, Bill Bowerman.
In 1964, they each put up $500 to start Blue Ribbon Sports. Knight & family still own 21% of the $46 billion (fiscal 2025 revenue) company now known as Nike.
Knight and his wife Penny have given $4 billion to charity so far--mainly through their Knight Foundation. They rank among America's top philanthropists.
The Knights have pledged over $500 million in donations to each of the University of Oregon and Stanford University, Phil's alma maters.
The couple pledged $400 million to help rebuild Portland, Oregon's historically Black Albina neighborhood in 2023.
In August 2025, the Knights pledged another $2 billion to Oregon Health & Science University's Knight Cancer Institute.
About
Before cofounding Nike, Knight sold Japanese running shoes from the trunk of his car.
Knight paid a Portland State University student $35 to design Nike's iconic "Swoosh" logo.