Net Worths Of America’s Top 30 Business Tycoons

15. Phil Knight (And Family) – $48.9 billion

Philip Hampson Knight is an American business tycoon and philanthropist from Oregon. Knight has a net worth of $48.9 billion. He is the current Chairman and co-founder of Emeritus of Nike Inc. He also owns ‘Laika,’ a production company for stop-motion films, and is one of the wealthiest American entrepreneurs. Knight was born in February 1938 in Portland, Oregon. His father was a lawyer turned newspaper publisher. Knight used to work the night shift dedicatedly tabulating sports scores and ran full seven miles to home every morning. He began his career as a Certified Public Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse.

After leaving Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse, he became an accounting professor at Portland State University. After graduating from the University of Oregon, Knight enlisted in the Army, where he served for one year. Again he enrolled at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Knight sent two pairs of shoes to shoe company Bowerman. Later the company name transformed into Nike. In 1969, the sales allowed Knight to leave the accountant job and work for Blue Ribbon Sports. Nike’s “swoosh” logo is considered one of the most powerful logos ever created in marketing history. Nike continues to flourish and grow.