What is Phil Knight’s Net Worth?
Introduction
Phil Knight’s net worth was estimated at $40 billion as of July 2022.
Philip “Phil” Hampson Knight is an American business magnate and a philanthropist from Oregon. Knight is the current Chairman Emeritus and co-founder of Nike, Inc.
He also owns the stop motion film production firm ‘Laika. Forbes listed Knight as the 28th wealthiest person in the globe.
Early Life
Philip Hampson Knight was born in Portland, Oregon on the 24th of February 1938. Knight is the son of Bill Knight, a lawyer and newspaper publisher, and Lota Knight. He was born in Portland and attended Cleveland High School.
Knight worked the night shift tabulating scores, and every morning he ran the entire seven-mile distance home. Knight continued his education at University of Oregon in Eugene. He is a graduate brother of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity.
Career
Knight started his career as a Certified Public accountant, first with Coopers & Lybrand and then at Price Waterhouse. After that, he became an accounting professor at Portland State University.
Knight graduated from the University of Oregon and enlisted in Army after completing one year of active duty. After one year of active service, Knight enrolled at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
It would take Knight more than a year for the first Tiger samples to reach Knight. Knight then found work as an accountant in Portland during that time.
Knight received the shoe samples and sent two pairs of shoes to Bowerman at Oregon. He hoped to sell the shoes and get an influential endorsement. Later, the company name was changed to Nike.
At track meets in the Pacific Northwest, his first sales came out of a legendary green Plymouth Valiant automobile. Blue Ribbon Sports allowed him to quit his job as an accountant and start working full-time with the sales in 1969.
Today, Nike’s “swoosh”, logo is one of the most powerful in the world.
Highlights
These are some of Phil Knight’s greatest moments:
- Co-founder and chairman of Nike
- 28th Richest Person in the World
- Noted Philanthropist
Three Entrepreneur Lessons From Phil Knight
We now know all about Phil Knight’s networth and how they succeeded. Let’s look at some leadership lessons we can take from them.
1. Branding and advertising do not have to be done before selling
We saw in the introduction that Nike is one of the most recognizable brands of all time. But Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, isn’t an advertising man. He was actually an accountant during most of Nike’s early years. That’s right. Before he went “all-in”, he worked as an assistant at Nike.
2. Don’t believe everything you read in conventional management books
Knight also shares modern best practices in management. Management should be accessible, according to conventional wisdom. Managers should always be available to their employees. They should be there for their team. They should be kind to their team members. So on.
3. Inspiration = Leadership
Leadership is all about inspiring others. There are no followers if there isn’t inspiration. There is no leader without followers. Great leaders encourage others to be leaders and go beyond this.
Favorite Quotes From Phil Knight
We wanted Nike to be the best in sports and fitness. You will have a clear focus once you say this. When you can say that, it is easy to focus. It doesn’t matter if you end up sponsoring the next Rolling Stones tour or making wing tips. Be a fighter, and follow the rules.
Both in business and in life there is an inexorable conflict. There is always a battle between chaos and peace. Each cannot be managed but both can still be managed. This is how success looks.