Nike Co-Founder Phil Knight to Donate $1.1 Billion to Oregon Hospital
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny will give $1.1 billion to an Oregon medical center, one of the biggest healthcare gifts ever.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, are giving away a massive $1.1 billion to help improve healthcare in Oregon. The gift goes to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and its Providence Heart Institute.
This is one of the largest donations to a healthcare institution in American history. It's also the second huge gift from the Knight family in about a year — they gave $2 billion to Oregon Health & Science University's cancer institute just months ago.
Here's what the new $1.1 billion will pay for:
- Oregon's first hospital dedicated to women's health, built on the Providence St. Vincent campus in Portland
- A modernized neonatal intensive care unit (special care for newborn babies)
- Better heart care across Providence's eight hospitals in the state
- Recruiting top doctors, funding new technology, and supporting clinical trials (medical studies that test new treatments)
Where did Phil Knight get all this money? He built his fortune selling running shoes. A former college runner, he co-founded Nike in 1964 with his old track coach. The company went public (meaning its shares started being sold on the stock market to everyday investors) in 1980 and grew into one of the world's biggest sports brands. Knight retired as chairman in 2016.
The couple are famous for their generosity. Before this latest gift, Forbes estimated they had already given away $4.5 billion to charity.
Interestingly, this generous news comes while Nike itself is struggling. The company has faced slumping sales and tough competition in China, and last month its stock price (the value of one share of the company) hit its lowest level since 2014.
In short, while Nike battles business challenges, its founder continues to make history with life-changing donations to healthcare.
This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/15/nike-phil-knight-donation-oregon-medical-center.html