A net worth of $65.1 billion makes Phil Knight the 16th richest person in the world. The 83-year-old American billionaire is the co-founder of Nike, the world’s leading athletic shoes and sports apparel company.
As the Sports giant, Nike, co-founded by Knight, made a leap into the metaverse and boosted its quarterly dividend, the family’s wealth valuation increased by over $1 billion on Friday alone.
Shares of Nike Inc. also rose Friday after the world’s largest sports apparel company hiked its quarterly dividend by 11%, extending its streak of increases to twenty consecutive years. The dividend declared today is payable on December 28, 2021, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 6, 2021.
Investors weighed positively on the sports apparel stock after it went digital at the end of Friday’s trading session, earning Phil Knight & family $1.07 billion. Their wealth gain to date is $11.2 billion.
Read: Nike’s founder & family gain $6.5 billion in a day, hold more than $11 billion in cash
Nikeland, a virtual world on the Roblox gaming platform, will be created by the Beaverton, Oregon, company in partnership with Roblox. Nike’s virtual world includes the company’s real-life headquarters as well as Nike buildings, fields, and arenas where players can play mini-games, such as tag, dodgeball, and “The Floor is Lava.” There is no charge for Nikeland (for now).
A future version of the game will include moments that emulate global sporting events. An example would be a soccer match during the World Cup or a flag football game during the Super Bowl. It said it will continue to add athlete and product integration to the virtual world.
In the future, players with accelerometers in their mobile devices can use real-world movement to power online gameplay. Using the virtual world, you can jump, for example, and it will translate in the virtual world.
Additionally, users will be able to dress their avatars in everything Nike and view the company’s latest products in the digital showroom. Nike products being sold today or past launches could be modelled after the items. Alternatively, Nike could give kids the opportunity to create products or tease future releases.
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“Nike continues to fuel growth through our Consumer Direct Acceleration strategy while generating strong cash flow and increasing returns to shareholders,” said John Donahoe, President, and CEO, Nike. Inc. “This is now our 20th consecutive year of increasing dividend payouts and reflects our strong track record and confidence in our ability to deliver sustainable, profitable, capital-efficient growth over the long-term.”
What you should know
- In 1972, Nike was renamed by the billionaire. Eight years later, Nike went public. By leveraging the influence top athletes began to have on popular culture, Nike became the most popular sports apparel brand in the world over the next few decades.
- In order to market its stylish shoes and other sportswear, the company signed deals with famous athletes like Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, and Tiger Woods. In 2004, Knight stepped down as Nike’s CEO, and in 2016, he stepped down as chairman.
- According to a July 2020 filing, the 83-year-old and his family own 230 million shares through Swoosh Holdings.
- According to an October 2020 filing, Philip Knight owns 35 million shares under his own name. The trust and a subsidiary of his son, Travis Knight, hold about 41 million shares.