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Philip Hampson Knight (born February 24, 1938) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman ''emeritus'' of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company. As of October 3, 2022, Knight was ranked by ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' as the 27th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$35.2 billion. He is also the owner of the
stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
film production company Laika. Knight is a graduate of the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is a ...
and
Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business (also known as Stanford GSB) is the graduate business school of Stanford University, a private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective business schoo ...
. He was in track and field club under coach
Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champio ...
at the University of Oregon, with whom he would co-found Nike. Knight has donated hundreds of millions of dollars, to each of his ''alma maters'', as well as
Oregon Health & Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon ...
. He has donated over $2 billion to the three institutions.


Early life

Phil Hampson Knight was born in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
, to
Bill Knight William George Knight (born October 24, 1947) is a former senior executive and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada. Knight was born in Estevan, Saskatchewan. A teacher by profession, Knight was first elected as a New Dem ...
, a lawyer turned newspaper publisher, and his wife, Lota Cloy (Hatfield) Knight."Phil Knight".
Accessed May 13, 2012. Knight grew up in the Portland neighborhood of Eastmoreland, and attended Cleveland High School. According to one source, "When his father refused to give him a summer job at his newspaper he_now_defunct_'' he_now_defunct_''Oregon_Journal''">Oregon_Journal.html"_;"title="he_now_defunct_''Oregon_Journal">he_now_defunct_''Oregon_Journal''_believing_that_his_son_should_find_work_on_his_own,"_Knight_"went_to_the_rival_'' he_now_defunct_''Oregon_Journal''">Oregon_Journal.html"_;"title="he_now_defunct_''Oregon_Journal">he_now_defunct_''Oregon_Journal''_believing_that_his_son_should_find_work_on_his_own,"_Knight_"went_to_the_rival_''The_Oregonian">Oregonian'',_where_he_worked_the_morning_shift_tabulating_sports_scores_and_every_morning_ran_home_the_full_seven_miles." Knight_continued_his_education_at_the_University_of_Oregon_ The_University_of_Oregon_(UO,_U_of_O_or_Oregon)_is_a_public_research_university_in_Eugene,_Oregon._Founded_in_1876,_the_institution_is_well_known_for_its_strong_ties_to_the_sports_apparel_and_marketing_firm_Nike,_Inc_ Nike,_Inc._(_or_)_is_a_...
_in_Eugene,_Oregon.html" ;"title="The_Oregonian.html" ;"title="Oregon_Journal''.html" ;"title="Oregon_Journal.html" ;"title="he now defunct ''Oregon Journal">he now defunct ''Oregon Journal''">Oregon_Journal.html" ;"title="he now defunct ''Oregon Journal">he now defunct ''Oregon Journal'' believing that his son should find work on his own," Knight "went to the rival ''The Oregonian">Oregonian'', where he worked the morning shift tabulating sports scores and every morning ran home the full seven miles." Knight continued his education at the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is a ...
in Eugene, Oregon">Eugene, where he is a graduate brother of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, was a sports reporter for the ''Oregon Daily Emerald'' and earned a business degree (B.B.A.) in 1959 in just three years. That same year, Knight also received his Army Reserve Commission and was a "''Distinguished Military Graduate''". As a middle-distance runner at Oregon, his personal best was in 4 minutes, 13 seconds, and he won
varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...
s for his track performances in 1957, 1958 and 1959. In 1977, together with Bowerman and Geoff Hollister, Knight founded an American running team called Athletics West.


Career


Early career

Before Blue Ribbon Sports—later Nike—flourished, Knight was a CPA, first with
Coopers & Lybrand PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...
, and then
Price Waterhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...
. Knight then became an accounting professor at
Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two dec ...
.


Nike Inc.

Immediately after graduating from the University of Oregon, Knight enlisted in the Army and served one year on active duty and seven years in the Army Reserve. He next enrolled at
Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business (also known as Stanford GSB) is the graduate business school of Stanford University, a private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective business schoo ...
, where, for his small business class, Knight produced a paper, "Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do to German Sports Shoes What Japanese Cameras Did to German Cameras?", that essentially foretold his eventual foray into selling running shoes. His ambition was to import high-quality and low-cost running shoes from Japan into the American market. He graduated with a master's degree in business administration from Stanford in 1962. Knight set out on a trip around the world after graduation, during which he made a stop in
Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, in November 1962. It was there that he discovered Tiger brand running shoes, manufactured in Kobe by the Onitsuka Co., now known as Asics. Impressed by the quality and low cost of the shoes, Knight called Mr. Onitsuka, who agreed to meet with him. By the end of the meeting, Knight had secured Tiger distribution rights for the western United States. The first Tiger samples would take more than a year to be shipped to Knight; during that time he found a job as an accountant in Portland. When Knight finally received the shoe samples, he mailed two pairs to Bowerman at the University of Oregon, hoping to gain both a sale and an influential endorsement. To Knight's surprise, Bowerman not only ordered the Tiger shoes, but also offered to become a partner with Knight and provide product design ideas. The two men agreed to a partnership by handshake on January 25, 1964, the birth date of Blue Ribbon Sports, the company that would later become Nike. Knight's first sales, were made out of a now storied green
Plymouth Valiant The Plymouth Valiant (first appearing in 1959 as simply the Valiant) is an automobile which was marketed by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation in the United States from the model years of 1960 through 1976. It was created to give t ...
automobile at track meets across the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...
. By 1969, these early sales allowed Knight to leave his accountant job and work full-time for Blue Ribbon Sports. Jeff Johnson, Nike's first employee, suggested calling the firm "Nike," named after the Greek winged goddess of victory, and Blue Ribbon Sports was subsequently renamed Nike in 1971. Nike's " swoosh" logo, now considered one of the most valuable logos in the world, was commissioned for $35 from graphic design student Carolyn Davidson in 1971. According to Nike's website, Knight said at the time: "I don't love it, but it will grow on me." In September 1983, Davidson was given an undisclosed amount of Nike stock for her contribution to the company's brand. On the '' Oprah'' television program in April 2011, Knight claimed he gave Davidson "a few hundred shares" when the company went public. At Nike, Knight developed personal relationships with some of the world's most recognizable athletes, including
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
and
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...
.


Vinton Studios becomes Laika

Following mainstream success in the late 1990s, Will Vinton Studios animation company sought external investors due to rapid growth. Knight assumed a 15 percent stake in the company in 1998, and his son Travis—who had graduated from Portland State following an unsuccessful attempt at a rap music career—went to work at the studio as an animator. Citing mismanagement, Knight eventually purchased Will Vinton Studios and assumed control of the company's board with the cooperation of Nike executives. In late 2003, Knight appointed his son to the board and, after Vinton had stepped down—prior to leaving the company with a severance package—Knight rebranded the company Laika. He then invested $180 million into Laika, and the studio released its first feature film, ''
Coraline ''Coraline'' () is a dark fantasy horror children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman started writing ''Coraline'' in 1990, and it was published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best ...
'', in
stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
, in 2009. ''Coraline'' was a financial success and Travis Knight was then promoted into the roles of Laika CEO and president.


Death of Matthew Knight

In May 2004, two years after Knight bought Vinton, his son Matthew, aged 34 years, traveled to
El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...
to film a fund-raising video for Christian Children of the World, a Portland
nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
. However, while scuba diving with his colleagues Vincenzo Iannuzzelli and Robert McDonell in
Lake Ilopango Lake Ilopango is a crater lake which fills an 8 by 11 km (72 km2 or 28 sq mi) volcanic caldera in central El Salvador, on the borders of the San Salvador, La Paz, and Cuscatlán departments. The caldera, which contains the second lar ...
, near
San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital it ...
, he died from a heart attack underwater due to an undetected congenital heart defect. Knight and Travis traveled to El Salvador to return Matthew's body to the US. Laika Studio's 2005 short film ''Moongirl'' was dedicated to Matthew's memory. Knight resigned as Nike CEO on November 18, 2004, several months after Matthew's funeral, but retained the position of chairman of the board. Knight's replacement was
William Perez William David "Bill" Perez (born September 10, 1947) is an American businessman who was the chief executive officer of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. He had earlier served in a similar capacity at Nike, Inc. Prior to that, Perez had risen to become the c ...
, former CEO of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., who was eventually replaced by
Mark Parker Mark Parker (born October 21, 1955) is an American businessman. He serves as executive chairman of Nike, Inc. He was named the third CEO of the company in 2006 and served as president and CEO until 13 January 2020. Personal life Parker was born ...
in 2006. In 2011, the Matthew Knight Arena at the University of Oregon was named in his honor.


Post-Nike CEO role

During the 2009–2010 period, Knight was the largest single contributor to the campaign to defeat Oregon Ballot Measures 66 and 67, which, once passed, increased income tax on some corporations and high-income individuals. In June 2015, Knight and Nike announced that he would step down as the company's chairman, with president and CEO Mark Parker to succeed him. Knight's retirement from the Nike board took effect at the end of June 2016. In September 2017, Knight decided to come out of retirement to put black back in the UNC jerseys for the Phil Knight Classic in Portland, Oregon.


Memoir

Knight's memoir, '' Shoe Dog'', was released on April 26, 2016 by
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...
, was rated fifth on
The New York Times Best Seller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
for business books in July 2018, and details the building of the Nike brand, from importing Japanese shoes to being part of a federal investigation.


Philanthropy

As of July 2021, Knight has a net worth of $60.8 billion. In 1990, Knight founded the Philip H. Knight Charitable Foundation Trust. As of 2016, according to ''
Portland Business Journal Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
'', "Knight is the most generous philanthropist in Oregon history. His lifetime gifts now approach $2 billion."


Stanford University

In 2006, Knight donated US$105 million to the
Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business (also known as Stanford GSB) is the graduate business school of Stanford University, a private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective business schoo ...
, which, at the time, was the largest ever individual donation to a U.S. business school. The campus was named "The Knight Management Center," in honor of Knight's philanthropic service to the school. In 2016, it was announced that Knight contributed $400 million to start the Knight-Hennessy Scholars graduate-level education program inspired by the
Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
. Graduates are charged to tackle global challenges, such as
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
and
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse
. The first class of 51 scholars from 21 countries was scheduled to arrive at Stanford in the fall of 2018. In May 2022, it was announced that Phil and Penny Knight gifted Stanford $75 million to establish the Phil and Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience. The initiative will be housed at Stanford’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and is set to study the cognitive decline and degenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.


University of Oregon

Knight has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the University of Oregon. Major gifts include funds supporting the renovation of the
Knight Library Knight Library is the main facility of the University of Oregon's (UO) library system. It is located on the university's campus in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The library design is emblematic of the architecture of the university's older buildin ...
and construction of the Knight Law Center. Knight also established endowed chairs across the campus. In the fall of 2016, it was announced that Knight will donate $500 million to UO for a new three-building laboratory and research science complex. This donation was part of a series of large higher-education gifts. In 2021, Knight helped to fund the renovation of
Hayward Field Hayward Field is a track and field stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. It has been the home of the university's track and field teams since 1921, and was the on-campus ho ...
, a track and field stadium at the university. The project was estimated to cost $270 million, although Knight's total contribution remained private.


Oregon Ducks

In August 2007, Knight announced that he and his wife would be donating US$100 million to found the UO Athletics Legacy Fund to help support all athletic programs at the university. In response, athletic director Pat Kilkenny said: "This extraordinary gift will set Oregon athletics on a course toward certain self sufficiency and create the flexibility and financial capacity for the university to move forward with the new athletic arena." At the time, the donation was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the university. The 2010 construction of the UO basketball team's Matthew Knight Arena was the result of a partnership between Knight and former Oregon athletic director Pat Kilkenny. Although Knight didn't pay for the project directly, he established a $100 million "Athletic Legacy Fund." The fund supports the athletic department. Named after Knight's deceased son, the venue replaced the McArthur Court building and cost over US$200 million to build. The facility was built using bonds backed by the State of Oregon. Knight was responsible for financing the UO's US$68 million 145,000 square-foot
gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...
facility that was officially opened in late July 2013. Knight's personal locker in the team's locker room displays the title "Uncle Phil", and other features include a gym with Brazilian hardwood floors, Apple iPhone chargers in each of the player's lockers, various auditoriums and meeting rooms, a games room for the players that includes flat-screen televisions and
foosball Table football, also known as foosball, table soccer, futbolito in Mexico, Taca Taca in Chile and Metegol in Argentina is a table-top game that is loosely based on association football. The aim of the game is to move the ball into the opponen ...
machines, and a cafeteria. In November 2015, it was announced that Knight and his wife would be donating $19.2 million towards a new sports complex project at the University of Oregon. The plans for the 29,000 square foot complex was announced in September. Construction started in January 2016 and ended in September 2016. The sports complex was named the
Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted second overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota p ...
Sports Performance Center and includes
motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
systems, neurocognitive assessment tools,
40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...
track, and steam machines made by Nike to help athletes break into their footwear more quickly. In October 2016, Knight and his wife invested $500 million to build a new campus dedicated to science, called the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. Three new buildings will be constructed and will provide 750 family-wage jobs once it is completed and fully operational.


Controversy

Knight's contributions to the athletic department at UO have also led to controversy. In April 2000, student leaders began organizing an
anti-sweatshop Anti-sweatshop movement refers to campaigns to improve the conditions of workers in sweatshops, i.e. manufacturing places characterized by low wages, poor working conditions and often child labor. It started in the 19th century in industrialized ...
and fair labor practices campaign, and called for Dave Frohnmayer, president of the school, to support the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC). On April 4, 2000, students began a sit-in at Johnson Hall, the UO's administrative center. In early April, an open meeting of students further demanded that the organization Fair Labor Association (FLA) would receive no consideration from the university, as it was perceived as a group founded, funded and backed by Nike and other corporations, and had also been criticized by worker rights advocates as an exercise in dishonest public relations. University President Dave Frohnmayer subsequently signed a one-year contract with the WRC; Knight then withdrew a US$30 million commitment toward the Autzen Stadium expansion project and offered no further donations to the university. In a public statement, Knight criticized the WRC for having unrealistic provisions and called it misguided, while praising the FLA for being "balanced" in its approach. In the face of ongoing conflict with students, Frohnmayer sided with Knight's assertion that the WRC was providing unbalanced representation, and in October 2000 the ''
Eugene Weekly ''Eugene Weekly'' is an alternative weekly An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and ...
'' reported Frohnmayer stating that: On February 16, 2001, the Oregon University System enacted a mandate that all institutions within the system choose business partners from a politically neutral standpoint, barring all universities in Oregon from joining either the WRC or the FLA. Following the dissolved relationship between the university and the WRC, Knight reinstated the donation and increased the amount to over US$50 million. Also controversial was Knight's success in lobbying for former insurance executive Pat Kilkenny to be named as athletic director at the university. Kilkenny had neither a college degree nor any prior experience in athletics administration. He attended but did not graduate from UO, as he left the school with several credit hours still owing. Prior to his appointment at UO, Kilkenny had been the chairman and chief executive officer of the
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
-based Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, and grew the business into a nationwide organization, with written premiums of nearly US$1 billion when he sold the company in 2006.


Other projects

In October 2008, Knight and his wife pledged US$100 million to the OHSU Cancer Institute, the largest gift in the history of
Oregon Health & Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon ...
. In recognition, the university renamed the organization the "OHSU Knight Cancer Institute." In October 2010, Knight donated several million dollars to the Catlin Gabel School to establish a scholarship for incoming freshmen students. On May 18, 2012, Knight contributed US$65,000 to a higher education Political Action Committee (PAC) formed by Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle. According to Boyle, the PAC will help facilitate an increase in the autonomy of schools in the Oregon University System. On September 27, 2013, Knight announced to the audience at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute's biennial gala, when he announced his intention to donate US$500 million for research if OHSU could match it over the subsequent two years. On June 25, 2015, OHSU met that $500 million goal, and Knight announced his upcoming $500 million donation, to bring the total to $1 billion raised. Knight and wife Penny also donated to the Marylhurst Knights Opportunity Scholarship Program at
Marylhurst University Marylhurst University was a private applied liberal arts and business university in Marylhurst, Oregon. It was among the oldest collegiate degree-granting institutions in Oregon, having awarded its first degree in 1897. Marylhurst was founded as S ...
, a private
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
university in
Marylhurst, Oregon Marylhurst, Oregon is the location of a U.S. Post Office, ZIP Code 97036, in southern Lake Oswego, Oregon on the campus of Marylhurst University (closed in 2018). Marylhurst, more commonly accepted, is the name of a neighborhood within the city ...
; as a result, the university named a lawn on their campus "Knight's Green" in the family's honor. In December 2016, Knight disclosed that he had donated $112 million in Nike stock to charity.


Accolades

In 2000, Knight was inducted into the
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...
for his Special Contribution to Sports in Oregon. At the time of his induction, he had contributed approximately US$230 million to UO, the majority of which was for athletics. On February 24, 2012, Knight was announced as a 2012 inductee of the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
, as a
contributor Contributor may refer to: * Author, the originator of any written work which is contributed to a publication ** Freelance writer, an author working as an independent contractor for a publication *** Contributor network, a freelance writing arrangem ...
. The Hall recognized him as the driving force behind Nike's huge financial support of U.S. basketball and its players. Knight was formally inducted on September 7, 2012. In 1989, Knight received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...
. For his "contributions to business, corporate and philanthropic leadership", Knight was elected to the 2015
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
membership class. In 2020, the university polled alumni and fans on social media, asking them which four UO alumni they would place on a notional Mount Rushmore for the university. Knight was one of the four final choices, along with Ducks track legend Steve Prefontaine; current NFL player
Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted second overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota p ...
, the
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...
winner; and Sabrina Ionescu, who had just completed an epic college basketball career for the
Ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
.


Personal life

Knight met his wife, Penelope "Penny" Parks, while he was working at Portland State University and the pair were married on September 13, 1968. They own a home in
La Quinta, California La Quinta ( Spanish for "The Fifth") is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. Located between Indian Wells and Indio, it is one of the nine cities of the Coachella Valley. The population was 37,467 at the 2010 c ...
. Knight's son, Matthew, died in a scuba diving accident in El Salvador in 2004. Another son of Knight’s,
Travis Knight Travis Andrew Knight (born September 13, 1973) is an American animator, producer, director, and former rapper who has worked as the lead animator and current CEO for the stop-motion animation studio Laika, and directed the films '' Kubo and the T ...
, runs the Laika
animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals o ...
. Phil Knight serves as chairman. Knight lists Nike's headquarters in
Beaverton, Oregon Beaverton is a city in Washington County, in the U.S. state of Oregon with a small portion bordering Portland in the Tualatin Valley. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was 97,494 at ...
, as his home address on government records. He resides in a rural area outside
Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many high-technology companie ...
and owns a personal flight hangar along with two private jets at the
Hillsboro Airport Hillsboro Airport , also known as Portland–Hillsboro Airport, is a corporate, general aviation and flight-training airport serving the city of Hillsboro, in Washington County, Oregon, United States. It is one of three airports in the Portland, ...
.


Politics

Knight is a registered Republican and a frequent contributor to Republican political candidates in Oregon. In
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, he donated $400,000 to
Chris Dudley Christen Guilford Dudley (born February 22, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player and politician. He played 886 games across 16 seasons in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, New ...
, then the Republican nominee for
Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...
. Knight occasionally supports Democrats, however; in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...
he financed
Neil Goldschmidt Neil Edward Goldschmidt (born June 16, 1940) is an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the United States Secretary of Transportat ...
's successful campaign, and in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
, he donated $250,000 to the re-election campaign of Democrat
John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician who served as the 35th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003, and as the 37th governor of Oregon from 2011 until his resignation in 2015. A member of the Democratic Party ...
. He donated $3.5 million to Republican
Knute Buehler Knute Carl Buehler (born August 1, 1964) is an American physician and politician who served as the Oregon State Representative for the 54th district from 2015 until January 2019. He was the Republican nominee for Governor of Oregon in the 201 ...
during the
2018 Oregon gubernatorial election The 2018 Oregon gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018 to elect the Governor of Oregon to serve a full four-year term. In the 2016 special election, Democratic Governor Kate Brown had been elected to serve the last two years of John ...
. Regarding this donation, Knight criticized the unfunded Oregon Public Employees Retirement System and the general fiscal state of Oregon, implying Democratic governor
Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...
was at fault. Knight was once again a major donor during the 2022 Oregon gubernatorial election. He gave $3.75 million to independent candidate
Betsy Johnson Elizabeth Katharine Johnson (born January 12, 1951) is an American aviator, entrepreneur, and politician who served in the Oregon House of Representatives from the 1st and 31st House districts from 2001 to 2005, and in the Oregon Senate from ...
until September 2022. After Johnson's support declined in the polls, he switched to backing Republican
Christine Drazan Christine Renee Drazan ( Deboy; born May 28, 1972) is an American politician who served in the Oregon House of Representatives from the 39th district from 2019 to 2022, as a member of the Republican Party. During her tenure in the state house sh ...
, writing her a $1 million check on October 6 of that year. He made a second donation to the Drazan campaign later in October. Also in 2022, Knight donated $2 million to a political action committee seeking to elect Republican state legislators in Oregon. While Knight is generally reluctant to give interviews, he spoke with the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in October 2022 regarding his support for Republican candidates. He argued Oregon's government had drifted too far to the left and described himself as "more conservative than Nike," responding to criticism of him backing an anti-abortion candidate which apparently contrasted with the company's image of supporting progressive social justice causes. Nike itself donated $75,000 to Drazan and Johnson's Democratic opponent,
Tina Kotek Tina Kotek (born September 30, 1966) is an American politician and the governor-elect of Oregon. Kotek served as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2013 to 2022. She was the first openly lesbian person to serve as a speaker of ...
, the eventual winner of the election.


See also


References


Further reading

* Deford, Frank. 1993. Nike has sponsored Hamza "The Truth" Day, all league linebacker from Wilson High School. pp. 52–72 * Knight, Phil. 2009. "When Things Don't Go Right: What Nike Learned In China," ''Playboy'', February 2009, 56(2), pp. 26, 111 * Strasser, J.B., and Laurie Becklund. 1993. ''Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There''. HarperBusiness. * Teitel, Emma. 2012. "Nike's Strange Moral Universe" Maclean's, February 13, 2012


External links


Nike, Inc. official website

''Forbes'' Phil Knight profile page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Phil 1938 births Living people Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon American chief executives of manufacturing companies American chief executives of fashion industry companies Cleveland High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Laika (company) people Nike, Inc. people Retail company founders Stanford University alumni University of Oregon alumni Philanthropists from Oregon American memoirists American company founders People from La Quinta, California Brookings Institution people 21st-century American businesspeople American billionaires Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Oregon Republicans