Who is Phil Knight? See Net-worth, Quote, Awards, Fact, Wiki

Phil Knight Wiki Biography

Phillip Hampson Knight, commonly known as Phil Knight, is a famous American philanthropist, as well as an entrepreneur. To the public, Phil Knight is perhaps best known as a co-founder of the multinational corporation “Nike, Inc.”. Co-founded in 1964 by Knight and Bill Bowerman, “Nike” has grown to become one of the most recognizable sports brands in the world. Since its establishment, the company has employed over 44,000 people all around the world. “Nike” owes a lot of its success to its marketing strategies, as well as sponsorships that helped it become noticeable. Among the biggest boosters for the company was signing a contract with the popular basketball player Michael Jordan, who wore “Nike” shoes during basketball games. As a result of such profitable publicity, the company started sponsoring a variety of well-known teams and athletes, including Carl Lewis, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Neymar and Ronaldo, to name a few. Aside from “Nike”, Phil Knight is also notable as the chairman of an animation studio called “Laika”, which specializes in feature films and music videos. For his contributions, Phil Knight was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.

Phil Knight Net Worth $22.5 Billion

A well-known businessman as well as a philanthropist, how rich is Phil Knight? According to sources, Phil Knight’s net worth is estimated to be $22.5 billion, the majority of which he has accumulated due to his business ventures, particularly with “Nike, Inc”..

Phil Knight was born in 1938, in Oregon, United States, where he studied at Cleveland High School. Upon his graduation, Knight enrolled in the University of Oregon. As a student, he became a reporter for the university’s “Oregon Daily Emerald” news site. Aside from that, he proved to be a skillful athlete, as he trained under Bill Bowerman, with whom he would later co-create “Nike”. Prior to his big breakthrough, Phil Knight worked as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), in such companies as “Coopers & Lybrand” and “Price Waterhouse”. Soon after he graduated with a degree in journalism from the university, Knight went on to serve in the Army Reserve. When he returned from active duty, Knight decided to continue his studies at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Upon his graduation, he went to Kobe in Japan, where he discovered “Tiger” running shoes. Impressed by their quality, Knight secured a distribution deal with Kihachiro Onitsuka, whose company manufactured “Tiger” shoes. Knight decided to seek Bowerman’s help with the distribution of the shoes, and increasing their popularity. With Bowerman’s partnership and endorsement, Knight was able to open his very first company called “Blue Ribbon Sports”. The company’s name was later changed to “Nike”, which became one of the most well-known companies over the years.

In regards to his personal life, Phil Knight is married to Penelope Parksthey, whom he met at Portland State University. They celebrated their marriage in 1968. Together, they had four children, namely Alexis Knight, Christina Knight, Travis Knight, and Matthew Knight who passed away in 2004 due to a heart attack.