Phil Hampson Knight is an Oregon-born American entrepreneur and philanthropist. Nike, Inc.’s Chairman Emeritus and co-founder, Phil Knight, serves in such a capacity. His net worth is expected to be $45.5 billion as of 2022.
In addition, he is the head of the stop-motion filmmaking firm Laika. According to Forbes, Knight was the world’s 28th richest person.
Life in the Earlier Years
On February 24, 1938, in Portland, Oregon, Philip Hampson Knight was born. Knight is the son of Bill and Lota Knight, a lawyer and newspaper publisher. After graduating from Cleveland High School in Portland, where he grew up,
Every morning, Knight jogged seven miles home from the office, where he worked the night shift tabulating sports scores. University of Oregon (UO) graduate brother of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity in Eugene, he pursued his study there.
What is Phil Knight’s net worth?
| Net Worth: | $45.5 Billion |
|---|---|
| Age: | 82 |
| Born: | February 24, 1938 |
| Country of Origin: | United States of America |
| Source of Wealth: | Entrepreneur |
| Last Updated: | 2022 |
Career
While attending the University of Oregon, Knight enlisted in the Army, serving one year on the front lines and seven years in the reserves. As soon as he was done serving his country, Knight enrolled at the Standard Graduate School of Business, where he earned a master’s degree in administration of business in 1962. After that, he embarked on a graduation trip to Japan, where he discovered Onitsuka Co.’s Tiger brand running shoes in Kobe. Mr. Onitsuka and Mr. Onitsuka had a meeting set up after Mr. Onitsuka was impressed with the quality of the shoes and their affordable price. This is how he was able to gain western distribution rights for Tiger.
To keep his hands busy while he was waiting for the first Tiger samples to arrive in Portland from Coopers and Lybrand and Price Waterhouse, the CPA took up a position with Price Waterhouse. In addition, he was a Portland State University accounting lecturer (PSU). Bill Bowerman, his former track coach at the University of Oregon, acquired a sample of the Tiger running shoes after he finally received them. After placing an order, Bowerman also approached Knight about becoming his business partner. That’s how the company that would become Nike, Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was started on January 25, 1964.
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A green Plymouth Valiant, Knight began selling the Tiger shoes at regional track events in the Pacific Northwest from the trunk of his car. By 1969, he had made enough money from these sales to resign his accountant job and work full-time for Blue Ribbon Sports. As a result of a recommendation made by their first employee, Jeff Johnson, the company was nicknamed Nike after the Greek winged goddess of triumph. In 1971, Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student, was paid $35 for her work on Nike’s distinctive “swoosh” emblem. I
n the following days, he received an undisclosed number of shares in Nike. Knight built Nike from a fledgling shoe firm to one of the world’s most recognizable and successful companies during the next four decades. He stepped down as Nike’s CEO in November 2004, but he remained on the board as chairman. After announcing in June 2015 that he would be stepping down as Nike’s chairman, Knight departed from the board of directors at the end of June 2016.
Along with Nike, Knight was instrumental in the success of Laika, an animated film production company he founded. In the late 1990s, Will Vinton Studios, an animation firm, was looking for outside investors because of its rapid expansion. In 1998, Knight bought a 15% share in the company and hired his son Travis to work as an animator for the studio. In the end, Knight bought Will Vinton Studios and rebranded it as Laika in 2003. “Coraline,” a stop-motion animated feature picture, was Laika’s debut feature (2009). As of now, Travis Knight is the CEO and President of Laika.
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Work
Simon & Schuster published “Shoe Dog,” Knight’s autobiography, in April 2016. A $500 million donation to the University of Oregon Health & Science Cancer Center; $400 million to Stanford University to start the Rhodes Scholarship-inspired Knight-Hennessy Scholars graduate-level education program; and $105 million to the Standford Graduate School of Business are just a few examples of Knight’s philanthropy.
Personal Life
Phil Knight married Penelope Penny Parks in 1963, and the couple produced three children, Matthew, Travis, and Christina, who are now adults. When he was working at Portland State University, he and the woman he is now married to initially met. Matthew lost unexpectedly from an undiagnosed congenital cardiac disease while scuba diving in El Salvador in 2004.
Penelope, Phil’s wife, moved to Beaverton, Oregon, where they now reside. Many times, the University of Oregon athletic fund has acknowledged Phil and Penny for their long-term contributions and support. Their son’s name is even mentioned in the library and in the law school. The Matthew Knight Arena has been named in his honor since 2011. Phil Knight was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame for his numerous accomplishments in the sport.
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The Amount Owed
Nike, the world’s leading manufacturer of athletic footwear and gear, is controlled by Phil Knight to the tune of 24 percent. A Delaware-based holding corporation called “Swoosh” holds his Class A and Class B stock.
His son Travis has a 10% stake in the company, but it is still ascribed to Phil Knight. Converse and Jordan are also owned by Nike.
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