Phil Knight & family

{ "bio": [ "Phil Knight, cofounder of shoe giant Nike, retired as chairman in 2016 after 52 years at the company.", "Knight ran track at the University of Oregon and created Nike shoes with his former track coach, Bill Bowerman.", "In 1964, they each put up $500 to start Blue Ribbon Sports. Knight & family still own 20% of the $51 billion (fiscal 2024 revenue) company now known as Nike.", "Knight and his wife Penny have given $3.6 billion to charity so far--mainly through their Knight Foundation. They rank among America's top philanthropists.", "The Knights have pledged over $500 million in donations to each of the University of Oregon and Stanford University, Phil's alma maters.", "The couple pledged another $400 million to help rebuild Portland, Oregon's historically Black Albina neighborhood in 2023." ], "about": [ "Before cofounding Nike, Knight sold Japanese running shoes from the trunk of his car.", "Knight paid a Portland State University student $35 to design Nike's iconic \"Swoosh\" logo." ] }