• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living

2

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

3

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998

1

Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living

2

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

3

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
Leadership

Nike Co-Founder Phil Knight Just Gave Stanford Its Largest Donation Ever

Claire Zillman
By
Claire Zillman
Claire Zillman
Editor, Leadership
Down Arrow Button Icon
Claire Zillman
By
Claire Zillman
Claire Zillman
Editor, Leadership
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 24, 2016, 5:45 AM ET
Knight Management Center Opens At Stanford Graduate School Of Business
The Stanford Graduate School of Business stands during the the grand opening of the Knight Management Center in Palo Alto, California, U.S., on Friday, April 29, 2011. Construction on the complex started in 2008, after Nike founder Philip Knight contributed $105 million in 2006 to get the project started. Photographer: Tony Avelar/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Tony Avelar — Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Philip Knight, a co-founder of the iconic Nike brand, has said that he has a “soft spot” for education. Based on his latest donation to Stanford University, that is quite the understatement.

The University announced on Wednesday morning that Knight has donated $400 million to the school for a new graduate-level leadership program. The sum is the largest donation Stanford has ever received and matches the largest gift ever bestowed to a university. Hedge fund magnate John Paulson last year donated $400 million to Harvard’s engineering school.

Stanford said that the new program will be named the Knight-Hennessy Scholars, after Nike’s Knight and John Hennessy, the university’s outgoing president, who will serve as the program’s inaugural director after he steps down this summer. Stanford described the program, which is intended to rival the Rhodes scholarships, as “a global, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary program, supported by Stanford’s seven graduate schools that foster service, collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship.”

The program will be funded by a $750 million endowment, with Knight’s $400 million serving as the founding gift. Stanford says the $750 million figure makes the new program the largest endowed scholarship in the world, and since 80% of it will directly support financial aid for students, it represents the largest single increase in student financial aid in the school’s history. Every year the program will admit 100 students, who will receive funding to cover their graduate education and living expenses for three years. The first cohort will start their studies in the fall of 2018.

Knight earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1962, two years before he helped found Nike as Blue Ribbon Sports. Since then, he has amassed a fortune worth some $25.7 billion as Nike ascended to become the largest sporting-goods company in the world; its trademark Swoosh, a staple of popular culture, is now one of the most recognizable logos in the world. Knight served as president of Nike from 1968 to 1990, except for a period from June 1983 to September 1984, and again from June 2000 to 2004. He currently serves as the company’s chairman, but will step down later this year.


Knight’s $400 million gift to Stanford is just the latest demonstration of his philanthropy. In June 2015, he donated $500 million to cancer research after Oregon Health & Science University met his challenge to fundraise that same amount. In 2006, he gave the Stanford Graduate School of Business $105 million, which at the time was thought to be the largest gift ever to a business school. He’s also reportedly donated hundreds of millions of dollars to his alma mater, the University of Oregon—mainly to the school’s athletic department—though he’s declined to publicly disclose the sums.

About the Author
Claire Zillman
By Claire ZillmanEditor, Leadership
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Claire Zillman is a senior editor at Fortune, overseeing leadership stories. 

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

k
CommentaryBox office
How Hollywood’s youngest filmmakers are exposing Gen Z’s real problem with AI
By Reid LitmanJuly 5, 2026
3 hours ago
Apple’s next CEO will oversee a $4 trillion tech giant, but isn’t on LinkedIn. Can today’s leaders still skip social media?
C-Suitechief executive officer (CEO)
Apple’s next CEO will oversee a $4 trillion tech giant, but isn’t on LinkedIn. Can today’s leaders still skip social media?
By Rachel VentrescaJuly 5, 2026
3 hours ago
Despite return-to-office-crackdowns, remote work is alive and well as the rate has barely changed over the last two years
Successremote work
Despite return-to-office-crackdowns, remote work is alive and well as the rate has barely changed over the last two years
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 5, 2026
4 hours ago
werzyn
AIEntrepreneurship
The CEO using AI to double revenue with 1,000 fewer hires: ‘Nobody’s going to replace the last mile’
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 5, 2026
5 hours ago
He used to work 90-hour weeks and lost ‘years’ of his life. Now the US Polo Assn. CEO clocks off at 5:30 p.m. and won’t text his team on weekends 
SuccessDay in the Life of a CEO
He used to work 90-hour weeks and lost ‘years’ of his life. Now the US Polo Assn. CEO clocks off at 5:30 p.m. and won’t text his team on weekends 
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 5, 2026
5 hours ago
David Senra poses in a black shirt in front of bookshelves
Startups & VentureMedia
How David Senra built the podcast the world’s most powerful CEOs can’t stop listening to
By Lily Mae LazarusJuly 5, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
Success
Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
By Preston ForeJuly 4, 2026
1 day ago
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
Law
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
3 days ago
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
AI
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 3, 2026
2 days ago
$25 billion CEO says one-hour interviews are a waste of time—he puts candidates through six hours of tests and wants them to order wine at lunch
Success
$25 billion CEO says one-hour interviews are a waste of time—he puts candidates through six hours of tests and wants them to order wine at lunch
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 3, 2026
2 days ago
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
Economy
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 2, 2026
3 days ago
A quarter of young baby boomers and Gen Xers who’ve been laid off in the last decade are still unemployed—and 11% have taken pay cuts to work
Success
A quarter of young baby boomers and Gen Xers who’ve been laid off in the last decade are still unemployed—and 11% have taken pay cuts to work
By Emma BurleighJuly 4, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.