Portrait of Phil Knight & family

Rank #95

Phil Knight & family

Net worth $26.6B

Nike · United States

Born
Feb 24, 1938
Age
88
Source
Nike
Residence
Hillsboro, Oregon
Citizenship
United States
Marital status
Married
Children
3
Education
Master of Business Administration, Stanford Graduate School of Business; Bachelor of Arts/Science, University of Oregon

Net worth over time

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.
  • 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.

Financial assets

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