Phil Knight

Knight was born on February 24, 1938, in Portland, Oregon, the eldest of three children. His father, Bill Knight, began as a lawyer and later moved into newspaper publishing, overseeing the Oregon Journal. Knight grew up in Portland and attended Cleveland High School.⁠[1]

In 1955 he enrolled at the University of Oregon, where he ran middle distance on the track team under coach Bill Bowerman, and he graduated in 1959 with a business degree.⁠[1]

After graduating, Knight served a year in the U.S. Army before attending Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityStanford University is a research university in California founded by Leland and Jane Stanford in 1885 and opened in 1891.Open the full entry’s Graduate School of Business, from which he graduated in 1962 with an MBA.⁠[1][2]

After graduating from Stanford in 1962, Knight traveled to Japan, toured the Onitsuka (now Asics) factory and arranged to sell the Onitsuka Tiger shoe in the United States.⁠[1]

In 1964 Knight and Bowerman each invested $500 to launch Blue Ribbon Sports. In its early years Knight worked as an accountant and taught at Portland State University while selling shoes out of his car at track meets.⁠[2][1]

In 1967 Bowerman modified the Onitsuka Tiger to create the Tiger Cortez. By 1969 the company had sold $1 million worth of shoes, and Knight left his other jobs to focus on it.⁠[1]

After a split with Onitsuka in 1971, the company was renamed Nike, after the Greek goddess of victory, and that year Knight commissioned the swoosh logo for $35.⁠[1]

Following the success of Bowerman’s waffle-soled sneakers, Nike went public in 1980 under Knight and Bowerman.⁠[1]

In 1984 Knight signed the rookie basketball player Michael Jeffrey Jordan to a contract that led to the Air Jordan line, and in 1988 he oversaw the debut of the slogan “Just Do It.”⁠[1]

Nike faced allegations of sweatshop conditions and child labor in Asian factories. In the late 1990s Knight announced reforms, including factory audits and higher minimum wages.⁠[1]

In the late 1990s Knight invested in Will Vinton Studios, known for its stop-motion “Claymation,” became its majority holder in 2002, ousted founder Will Vinton in 2003 and later renamed the company LAIKA.⁠[1]

Knight stepped down as chief executive in 2004 and remained chairman until 2016.⁠[1]

In 2013 Knight gave $500 million to the University of Oregon. That year he and his wife, Penny, pledged $500 million to Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) on condition that it match the sum within two years; the challenge became the $1 billion Knight Cancer Challenge, completed with support from Oregon Legislature bonds, Gert Boyle and about 10,000 individuals.⁠[1][3]

On June 30, 2016, Knight retired from Nike’s board and Mark Parker, president and CEO since 2006, became chairman, ending Knight’s 52-year run with the company. Knight became chairman emeritus and may attend board meetings as an observer. He said, “I could not be more pleased with the Board’s thoughtful execution of the succession plan.”⁠[4][2]

At the same time Knight sold his voting interests in Swoosh, LLC, which he had formed over a year earlier to hold most of his Nike Class A shares, to a trust controlled by his son, a Nike director.⁠[4]

In 2016 Knight published the memoir “Shoe Dog” and gave $400 million to Stanford University.⁠[1][1]

In 2021 Knight gave another $500 million to the University of Oregon.⁠[1]

In 2023 the Knights pledged $400 million to help rebuild Portland’s historically Black Albina neighborhood.⁠[2]

On August 14, 2025, OHSU announced a $2 billion gift from Phil and Penny Knight to its Knight Cancer Institute, the largest single donation ever made to a U.S. university, college or academic health center. Under the plan the institute is to become self-governed within OHSU, overseen by a new Knight Cancer Group with its own board, with Brian Druker as its inaugural president.⁠[3]

In a statement the Knights said, “We are grateful for the opportunity to invest in the next stage of the Druker-led revolutionary vision.”⁠[3]

As of October 28, 2026, ForbesForbesForbes is an American business media brand that began with Forbes magazine, founded by B.C. Forbes in 1917. It is known for rankings such as the Forbes 400, the World’s Billionaires list and 30 Under 30, and operates Forbes.com, ForbesLive events and licensed editions in 81 countries. Since 2014 a majority stake has been held by the Hong Kong investment group Integrated Whale Media; a 2021 plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company was terminated in 2022. It is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.Open the full entry estimated the net worth of Knight and his family at $25.4 billion, with Nike as the source of the self-made fortune. Knight and his family hold 21% of Nike, which had $46 billion in revenue in fiscal 2026.⁠[2]

Knight and his wife have given away $4.5 billion so far, mostly through the Knight Foundation, and have pledged more than $500 million each to the University of Oregon and Stanford.⁠[2]

Nike: Official website: https://about.nike.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[4]