Phil Knight, former chairman and founder of Nike, attends the Allen & Company Sun Valley Annual Media Conference on July 11, 2019 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
nike Co-founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny will donate $1.1 billion to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Oregon and its Providence Heart Institute, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
The gift is one of the largest gifts to a medical institution in U.S. history, and the second major gift from the Knight family in nearly the last year, following the couple’s $2 billion gift to Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute, according to the announcement.
The donation will be used to “establish Oregon’s first dedicated women’s health hospital” and to fund cardiac care at eight Providence hospitals in the state.
“Today’s gift marks an important and transformative milestone for Providence and Northwest healthcare,” Eric Wexler, Providence’s president and CEO, said in a release. “This will allow us to create new possibilities for women’s health and cardiovascular care, as well as enhance access and support for our patients, as we strive to be the best place to provide and receive care.”
The Order’s donation is just their latest gift to Providence. The couple has already donated $200 million to Providence Heart Institute over the past 10 years, according to the release.
Phil and Penny Knight Pavilion on the St. Vincent campus in Providence, Oregon.
Provided by: Providence St. Vincent Medical Center
Dr. Dan O’Selan, executive medical director of Providence Heart Institute, said in an interview with CNBC that the Knights’ philanthropy has already had a significant impact on cardiovascular care at the hospital.
“With their funding, we were able to start a heart transplant program that was very successful,” Oseran said. “And we’ve been able to hire people and give our physicians administrative and research time to pursue their passions. So it’s created a very unique environment for us here.”
This gift will continue to support cardiac care by recruiting top physicians to Providence hospitals, funding innovation and clinical trials, and supporting individualized patient care.
The gift will also help establish a women’s hospital on the campus of Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland. The new hospital will have a modernized neonatal intensive care unit and will provide comprehensive care across gynecology, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause and cardiology.
A rendering of the proposed women’s hospital at St. Vincent Medical Center in Providence, Oregon.
Provided by: Providence St. Vincent Medical Center
The sportswear company co-founder and his wife are well-known for their philanthropy, and were named to TIME magazine’s 2025 TIME100 list of philanthropies. Forbes magazine estimates that the couple had already donated $4.5 billion to charity before Tuesday’s announcement.
Knight made his fortune selling running shoes. A college runner himself, Knight co-founded Nike under the name Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964 with former track coach Bill Bowerman. Sixteen years later, Knight and his team took the company public. Knight led the Just Do It brand into one of the world’s top sports apparel companies. He retired as chairman in 2016.
The company has been struggling in recent years due to sluggish sales and intensifying competition in China. Last month, the company’s stock hit its lowest level since 2014.
