Phil Knight flies to Palm Springs after a week of Oregon travel

Phil Knight flew from Redmond, Oregon, to Palm Springs on May 14, 2026, arriving at Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport aboard his Gulfstream G650, N1KE, after a one-hour, 49-minute flight. The trip follows a series of recent flights that shuttled the Nike co-founder and chairman emeritus between his Hillsboro home base and the Palm Springs area, including a round trip on May 11 and a return from Arizona earlier that same day.

The same week, Knight’s philanthropic footprint remained front-page news in Oregon. In August 2025, he and his wife Penny committed a record $2 billion to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, a gift that the university said would “transform the future of cancer care” and make Oregon a global hub for cancer research, per [OHSU News](https://news.ohsu.edu/2025/08/14/ohsu-knight-cancer-institute-receives-record-2-billion-commitment-from-phil-and-penny-knight). Knight, who is no longer pursuing a purchase of the Portland Trail Blazers due to his age, as reported by [OPB](https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/14/phil-knight-trail-blazers-sale-not-buying-portland-oregon-basketball/), continues to divide his time between Oregon and warmer destinations.

The Palm Springs area has been a recurring destination for Knight’s Gulfstream, with multiple visits in May alone. While no specific public event in the Coachella Valley this week explains the trip, the pattern suggests the 88-year-old billionaire maintains a second-home rhythm, using his private hangar at Hillsboro as a base and the desert as a frequent retreat.