Phil Knight Net Worth
American businessman, sports lover, and philanthropist Phil Knight is worth $40 billion. Phil Knight amassed his wealth as the company’s namesake and largest individual stockholder of Nike Inc. In this article, we have given the complete details about Phil Knight Net Worth, Bio, Career, Nike, Wife And Children.
Phil Knight Bio and Career
Knight was born in Portland, Oregon to a lawyer turned newspaper publisher. Soon after receiving his MBA from Stanford Business School, Knight took a year off to see the world.
In 1964, while also working as an assistant professor at Portland State University and an accountant, he and his college track coach, Bill Bowerman, founded athletic footwear distributor Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1968, he committed himself fully to his shoe company, which he had begun selling sneakers at weekend track meetings out of the back of his green Plymouth Valiant.
Phil Knight Business as Nike
In 1972, the billionaire rebranded his business as Nike. Eight years later, he participated in a public offering and sold shares. Over the next couple of decades, Nike grew to become the most widely recognised sportswear brand in the world by leveraging on the growing cultural significance of professional athletes. In order to promote its trendy shoes and other sportswear, the business signed professional players including Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, and Tiger Woods. Knight resigned from his positions as CEO and Chairman of Nike, respectively, in 2004 and 2016.
Oregon Health & Science University in Portland received $500 million from him for cancer research, Stanford University received $400 million for graduate scholarships, and the University of Oregon in Eugene received $1 billion for a science research centre.
Travis Knight, the younger of Knight’s two sons, is a married member of the Nike board. Matthew, his eldest son, passed away in 2004.
Phil Knight Wife and children
Phil Knight wed Penelope “Penny” Parks in 1963; the couple has three grown children, Matthew, Travis, and Christina. He was employed at Portland State University, where she later enrolled. Matthew died in 2004 while scuba diving in El Salvador from a congenital cardiac condition that had gone undiagnosed. Both Phil and his wife Penelope have relocated to the Beaverton area of Oregon. Phil and Penny have been longtime donors to the University of Oregon’s athletic fund and have received numerous awards for their generosity. In 2011, the Matthew Knight Arena was named after their son, while the library is dedicated after his mother. His father’s name also appears on the law school. Phil Knight was honoured by being inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame for his many accomplishments to the state’s sports community.
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