image via Jim Rogash for Getty
words // Brandon Richard
Worth an estimated $19 billion according to Forbes, Nike co-founder and chairman Phil Knight and his wife, Penny Knight, have donated more than $1 billion over the years to different medical centers, athletic facilities, university buildings and other endeavors.
According to Oregon Live, Providence Health & Services announced the Knights are giving $25 million for a new cardiovascular center at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center yesterday.
Last September, the Knights announced a $500 million challenge grant to Oregon Health & Science University's Knight Cancer Institute, which they'll make if the university can match the amount by February 2016. As of today, nearly $421 million in matching funds have been raised, so it's looking like the donation will go through.
Knight co-founded Blue Ribbon Sports (which would later become Nike) along with Bill Bowerman in 1964. He met Penny while he was working at the University of Oregon, and the couple married in 1968.
See a deeper breakdown of the Knight's charitable contributions to medicine, education and athletics at Oregon Live.
image via Bend Elks
