Philip Knight

Knight is an active political donor in Oregon races, supporting unsuccessful Republican candidate Christine Drazan in the 2022 gubernatorial election. ⁴ He is also politically active at a national level, such as donating tens of thousands of dollars to the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2023. ⁵

Nike

Phil Knight lettered in track at the University of Oregon under track coach Bill Bowerman who made individualized track shoes for his team members in his garage. After his graduation in 1959, Knight attained an MBA at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. ⁶

Knight discovered Tiger running shoes from the Onitsuka brand (later rebranded as Asics) and acquired the rights to distribute them in the United States. Knight, with assistance from Bowerman, formed Blue Ribbon Sports to sell the Onitsuka shoes and later shoes of Knight and Bowerman’s design. The company was rebranded as Nike in 1971, when the link with Onitsuka was broken. ^{7 6}

In the 1990s, Nike was accused of using Asian sweatshops and child labor to produce its products. Accusations of abuse, poor work conditions, and forced overtime were confirmed and Knight instituted changes including auditing factories and raising pay. ⁶

Knight worked as Nike’s president from 1968 to 1990, except June 1983 to September 1984, and later worked as president again from 2000 to 2004. ¹ In 2016, he retired as the company’s chairman. ⁸ That same year, Knight published Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, which recounted the creation and evolution of Knight’s company as well as Knight’s personal life. ⁹

Other Ventures

Knight acquired full control of Will Vinton Studios in 2002. The company was made famous by “Claymation” and the creation of characters like California Raisins, and was renamed Laika by Knight. ¹⁰

As of August 2025, Knight’s net worth is estimated at $33.4 billion by Bloomberg consisting primarily of Nike stock. ¹¹

Philanthropy

It is estimated that Knight and his wife Penny have given away more than $3.6 billion, primarily focused on health, education, and community initiatives. ¹² Knight has donated more than a combined $2 billion in grants to the University of Oregon, Stanford University and the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). ¹³

The Knights are major contributors to cancer research at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), and KF granted $20.5 million to fund the Phil and Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at the OHSU. The Knights have committed to further contribute $75 million from the foundation over several years. In 2013, the Knights pledged $500 million to OHSU if the university could match it. The Oregon legislature provided $200 million and $100 million was contributed by Gert Boyle, chair of Columbia Sportswear, with the remainder received from other private donations. ^{14  15}

In 2025, the Knights announced they would donate $2 billion to OHSU for cancer research to increase diagnostic capabilities and access to clinical trials. This gift would be the largest single donation to a U.S. university and comes after the university’s cancer institute was named after the Knights following a $100 million donation in 2008. ⁸

The foundation makes grants in the areas of neighborhood revitalization, and education, and in 2023, made $191,354,333 in total grants including grants of $63,333,333 to Stanford University, $100 million to the University of Oregon Foundation, $5 million to the left-wing Obama Foundation, and $5 million to Albina Head Start. ¹⁶

Political Activity

Knight supports right-leaning campaigns at the Oregon state and occasionally national level. In 2024, Knight contributed $2 million to the right-of-center Bring Balance to Salem PAC, a political committee focused on “reduc[ing] Democratic influence in state politics,” ¹⁷ and has contributed several million dollars to the PAC since 2021. ¹⁸

In 2022, Knight spent more than $7 million on Oregon’s gubernatorial race, with about half of those funds initially supporting independent candidate Betsy Johnson, a former Democratic state legislator. Johnson’s “pro-gun response to the Uvalde school shooting” and “her reluctance to condemn Confederate flag-waving supporters” harmed her campaign, causing Knight to switch his support to the Republican candidate, Christine Drazan. ⁴

Knight also gave $10,000 to McCarthy Victory Fund in 2019, $250,000 to Republican Leadership for Oregon in 2020, and just over $40,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2023. ⁵

Republican Knute Buehler’s 2018 failed campaign for governor of Oregon received a $500,000 contribution. ^{19  20}

Personal Life

Knight is married to Penelope “Penny” Parks Knight ²¹ whom he met at a Portland State University accounting class that Knight was teaching. ²² Knight and his wife had two sons, Matthew and Travis, and a daughter, Christina. ²¹ Matthew passed away in 2004 at the age of 34 during a diving trip in El Salvador. ²³ In his memoir Shoe Dog, Knight mentions the feeling of regret for not spending more time with his kids as they grew up, ²² but there is no mention of his daughter, Christina, in his memoir. ²¹