What happened to Phil Knight's son Matthew Knight? All about former Nike Chief's children amid $2B pledge to Oregon cancer center

Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, is making headlines again for promising an unprecedented $2 billion to Oregon Health and Science University's Knight Cancer Institute.

This gift, announced August 14, 2025, is the largest gift ever made to a university, college, or health institution in the United States, and will allow the Knight Cancer Institute to change the way research on cancer, treatment of cancer, and patient care are conducted, in partnership with cancer research pioneer Dr. Brian Druker.

While Knight's notable business and charitable accomplishments are widely recognized, he has also experienced incredible personal tragedy as well, especially the loss of his oldest son, Matthew Knight.

Matthew Hatfield Knight was killed in a scuba diving accident while with friends on May 23, 2004, at Lake Ilopango, east of El Salvador's capital, San Salvador.

Nike co-founder Phil Knight and wife pledge record $2 billion to Oregon cancer center — largest single gift to a US university https://t.co/Q4s2949TYX pic.twitter.com/pltppz7KxL

— New York Post (@nypost) August 14, 2025

Matthew Knight was said to be 34 years old at the time of his death. Local authorities stated Knight died from asphyxiation due to submersion. According to The Age, Friends who were diving around 20 meters deep brought him to the surface, but unfortunately, they could not revive him.

A graduate from Hillsboro High School in Oregon, Matthew worked for the Christian Children of the World charity. Matt's death was a horrible loss for the Knight family. Phil Knight has been open about the grief he experienced. He remembers that it took him around six months to be able to function again.

A look into Phil Knight's mourning of Matthew Knight's death and his other children

A graduate from Hillsboro High School in Oregon, Matthew worked for the Christian Children of the World charity. MPhil Knight has been open about the grief he experienced. He remembers that it took him around six months to be able to function again.

"It really did take me about six months to function again. And it’s something a parent never gets over. They say,  'When do you get over it?’" Phil Knight told USA Today.

Phil Knight and wife Penelope "Penny" Knight got married in 1968, and have three children: Matthew, Travis, and Christina. While the Knight family kept a very low public profile, Travis Knight has carved out a good reputation in the entertainment sector.

Travis is the president and CEO of Laika, the Oregon-based stop-motion animation studio that produced films such as Coraline, ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings (CEO Today Magazine).

A peek at how the stop-motion animators crafted Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), dir. Shannon Tindle and Travis Knight, Laika pic.twitter.com/skNLXPfWI5

— Animation Obsessive (@ani_obsessive) April 29, 2023

Laika was formerly known as Will Vinton Studios, but was transformed into Laika by the Knight family in 2003, with Phil Knight as majority shareholder and Travis as head creative director. Since then, Laika has received numerous Academy Award nominations and built a brand around challenging and innovating animation.

Phil Knight's recent $2 billion pledge towards the Knight Cancer Institute is part of a larger investment that the Knights have made toward education, healthcare, and research, primarily in Oregon. The Knights contributed $500 million raised for cancer research at OHSU in 2016, matching all public donations on a dollar-for-dollar basis.