Portrait of James Goodnight

Rank #218

James Goodnight

Net worth $13.6B

Software · United States

Born
Jan 06, 1943
Age
83
Source
Software
Residence
Cary, North Carolina
Citizenship
United States
Marital status
Married
Children
3
Education
Bachelor of Arts/Science, North Carolina State University; Doctorate, North Carolina State University; Master of Science, North Carolina State University

Net worth over time

Biography

  • James Goodnight cofounded the analytics software firm SAS in 1976 with John Sall, whom he met while a PhD student at North Carolina State University.
  • Goodnight has been at the helm since the company's inception, when it developed software to analyze agricultural data.
  • SAS products are used by more than 80,800 organizations around the world; 2022 revenues were more than $3 billion.
  • Goodnight and Sall, who is also a billionaire, founded private school Cary Academy together and co-own a country club and a hotel.
  • Goodnight considered taking SAS public in 1999 while the dot-com boom approached its peak, but resisted the urge and avoided the steep market drop.
  • SAS is best known for its employee-friendly programs like sports leagues, day care and an on-site pharmacy.

Financial assets

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