What is Phil Knight’s net worth? Does he still own Nike?

Nike was co-founded by Phil Knight and his former college track coach Bill Bowerman. The entrepreneur began his business journey by selling sports shoes from his car at various track meets. By 2023, Nike had become the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and became a billion-dollar company.

Knight attended the University of Oregon, and after graduation, he served in the Army and Army Reserve. Later, he also attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Knight started thinking about Nike’s beginnings while he was at Stanford.

After finishing his studies at Stanford, Knight traveled to Japan. During his trip, he went to the Onitsuka Co. shoe factory, which produced running shoes under the Tiger brand. He negotiated an agreement with the company to handle the distribution of the shoes within the United States.

Bowerman, who used to be Knight’s track coach, was one of his first customers. The coach didn’t just want shoes. He also wanted a share in the profits or benefits. On January 25, 1964, they created a company called Blue Ribbon Sports, which later became Nike.

What is Phil Knight’s net worth?

Forbes has ranked Knight as the 25th richest individual globally. As of May 12, 2023, he had a net worth of $46.6 billion.

Does Knight still own shares of Nike?

In 2016, Knight retired from his position at Nike. However, according to People, he owns most of the company and has established a limited liability company called Swoosh to hold his Nike shares and $13.9 billion worth of Nike stock.