What is Phil Knight’s net worth? Phil Knight net worth comes from Nike.
Philip Hampson Knight 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.
Phil Knight Net Worth
| Net Worth |
US$ 51.8 billion |
| Age |
83 (born February 24, 1938) |
| Country of Origin |
USA |
| Source of Wealth |
Nike |
Early Life & Education
Phil Hampson Knight was born in Portland, Oregon, to his father, Bill Knight, a lawyer-turned-newspaper publisher, and his wife, Lotta Chloe (Hatfield) Knight. Knight grew up in the Portland neighborhood of Eastmoreland and attended Cleveland High School. According to one source, “When his father refused to grant him a summer job in his newspaper [now defunct Oregon Newspaper], believing that his son should find work on his own,“ Knight ”went to his Oregonian competitor, where she worked in the morning shift scheduling sports scores and every morning he ran to Home for a full seven miles. ”
Knight continued his education at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where he graduated from the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, was a sports reporter for the Oregon Daily Emerald and earned a degree in journalism in 1959. As a mid-distance runner in Oregon, his best was one mile (1.6 Km) in 4 minutes and 13 seconds, winning college letters for his track performances in 1957, 1958, and 1959. In 1977, Knight, along with Bowerman and Geoff Hollister, founded an American running team called Western Athletics.
Career
Before Blue Ribbon Sports—later Nike—flourished, Knight was a CPA, first with Coopers & Lybrand, and then Price Waterhouse. Knight then became an accounting professor at Portland State University.
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. 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.
Phil Knight’s net worth in 2021 is $51.8 Billion.
Few Facts About Phil Knight
- Matthew Knight Arena, the UO basketball team’s facility, constructed in the year 2010, was actually a result of a partnership between Knight and former Oregon Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny, and that he established a $100 million “Athletic Legacy Fund.”
- Knight along with Bill Bowerman and Geoff Hollister founded an American running team called Athletics West, in the year 1977.
- It was for his business class, that he wrote a paper “Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do to German Sports Shoes What Japanese Cameras Did to German Cameras?,” which premised his eventual foray into selling running shoes.
- The swoosh logo of Nike was designed by graphic design student Carolyn Davidson for the mere US $35, at the time of renaming. Though Knight never loved the logo, it was reported that he gave Davidson an undisclosed amount of Nike stock for her contribution in September 1983.
- It was the very first employee of Nike – Jeff Johnson, who suggested the name, Nike, after the Greek winged goddess of victory. Blue Ribbon Sports was renamed Nike in the year 1971.
Top Phil Knight Quotes
- “Dream audaciously. Have the courage to fail forward. Act with urgency.” – Phil Knight
- “Make history or be a part of it.” – Phil Knight
- “It’s not enough to do good things. You have to let people know what you’re doing.” – Phil Knight
- “You can’t explain much in 60 seconds, but when you show Michael Jordan, you don’t have to. It’s that simple.” – Phil Knight
- “While technology is still important, the consumer has to lead innovation.” – Phil Knight
- “Dare to take chances, lest you leave your talent buried in the ground.” – Phil Knight
