James Goodnight#Wealth and philanthropy

Goodnight was born to Albert Goodnight and Dorothy Patterson in Salisbury, North Carolina, on January 6, 1943.{{cite news|first=Kevin|last=Maney|newspaper=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2004-04-21-sas-culture_x.htm|title=SAS Workers Won When Greed Lost|date=April 21, 2004|access-date=December 6, 2011}} He lived in Greensboro until he was 12, when his family moved to Wilmington. As a kid he worked at his father's hardware store.{{Cite news|date=16 June 2000|title=Goodnight for all|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/goodnight-for-all-1.282810|access-date=2020-11-02|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=27 July 2008|title=A good night for numbers|url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article8995451.html|website=The Charlotte Observer}}

Goodnight's career with computers began with a Mathematics course at North Carolina State University. One summer he got a job writing software programs for the agricultural economics department.{{citation|publisher=SAS Institute|url=http://www.sas.com/presscenter/bios/jgoodnight.html|title=Official biography|access-date=December 13, 2012}} Goodnight was a member of the Beta-Beta chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon at NC State, and contributed to the construction of a new fraternity house for the chapter in 2002.{{Cite web|last=Hoyle|first=Amanda|date=25 June 2014|title=TKE alumni selling fraternity house at N.C. State, listed for $2.6M|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/2014/06/tke-alumni-selling-fraternity-house-at-n-c-state.html|website=Triangle Business Journal}}

Goodnight received a master's degree in statistics in 1968. He also worked at a company building electronic equipment for the ground stations that communicated with the Apollo space capsules.Raleigh News & Observer. "[http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/527061.html Ann and Jim Goodnight]." December 31, 2006. Retrieved December 6, 2011.{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Stallard|newspaper=The Economic Times|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-06-18/news/27624358_1_sas-employee-work-culture|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504174428/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-06-18/news/27624358_1_sas-employee-work-culture|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 4, 2011|title=Has SAS Chairman Jim Goodnight Cracked the Code of Corporate Culture?|date=June 18, 2010|access-date=December 12, 2012}} While working on the Apollo program, Goodnight experienced a work environment with a high turnover rate and this shaped his views on corporate culture. Goodnight returned to North Carolina State University after working on the Apollo project, where he earned a PhD in statistics and was a faculty member from 1972 to 1976.

{{main|SAS Institute}}

Goodnight joined another faculty member at North Carolina State in a research project to create a general purpose statistical analysis system (the original meaning of the name SAS) for analyzing agricultural data.{{cite news|first=David |last=Kaplan |newspaper=Fortune |url=https://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/technology/sas_best_companies.fortune/ |title=SAS: A new no. 1 best employer |date=January 22, 2010 |access-date=September 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129010236/http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/technology/sas_best_companies.fortune/ |archive-date=November 29, 2011 }} The project was operated by a consortium of eight land-grant universities and funded primarily by the USDA. Goodnight along with fellow faculty member Anthony James Barr became project leaders for the development of the early version of SAS.{{citation|publisher=Presented at Duke University|url=https://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/00n0001/ts00016.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000824120039/http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/00n0001/ts00016.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 24, 2000|title=SAS Institute FDA Intellectual Partnership for Efficient Regulated Research Data Archival and Analyses|date=April 12, 2000|access-date=September 28, 2011}} When the software had 100 customers in 1976, Goodnight and three others from the university left the college to form SAS Institute{{cite news|first=Steve|last=Lohr|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/business/22sas.html?pagewanted=all|title=At a Software Powerhouse, the Good Life Is Under Siege|date=November 21, 2009|access-date=December 6, 2011}}{{citation|publisher=WRAL|url=http://www.wral.com/business/story/9211429/|title=SAS corporate timeline|date=March 3, 2011|access-date=October 17, 2011}} in an office across the street.

Goodnight has remained CEO of SAS Institute for more than 45 years as the company grew from $138,000 in its first year in business, to $420 million in 1993 and $3.2 billion in 2022.{{citation|url=http://www.sas.com/company/about/statistics.html|title=Corporate Statistics|publisher=SAS Institute|access-date=August 10, 2011}} Under his leadership, the company experienced continuous growth,{{cite news|url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/201109/inc-500-james-goodnight-sas.html|newspaper=Inc. Magazine|first=Leigh|last=Buchanan|title=How SAS Continues to Grow|date=September 2011|access-date=December 17, 2012}} becoming one of the largest privately held software providers in the world.{{Cite news |last=Gordon |first=Brian |date=September 28, 2023 |title=SAS eliminates more positions this week as part of its 2023 staff reduction plan |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article279892654.html |work=The News & Observer}} Goodnight became known for creating and promoting SAS' corporate culture,{{cite news|first=Quentin|last=Hardy|newspaper=Forbes|url=https://blogs.forbes.com/quentinhardy/2011/06/09/sas-ibms-bad-culture-how-well-win/|title=SAS-We Spurned IBM, Now to Win|date=June 9, 2011|access-date=December 6, 2011}} often described by the media as "utopian."{{citation|quote=SAS Institute has received considerable media attention for the "utopian" environment for which it has become known|first1=Ellen|last1=Bankert|first2=Mary Dean |last2=Lee |first3=Candice |last3=Lange|work=The Wharton Work/Life Roundtable: A Division of the Wharton Work/Life Integration Project|publisher=University of Pennsylvania|url=http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/pdfs/SASwharton.pdf|title=SAS Institute: A case on the role of senior business leaders in driving work/life cultural change}}{{cite news|first=N|last=Shivapriya|newspaper=The Economic Times|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2008-09-25/news/28664141_1_sas-work-culture-stock-options|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527150804/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2008-09-25/news/28664141_1_sas-work-culture-stock-options|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 27, 2012|title=SAS Steams Along as Unlisted Firms Amid US Financial Chaos|date=September 25, 2008|access-date=December 6, 2011}} He rejected acquisition offers and chose not to take SAS public to protect the company's work environment. Goodnight has maintained a flat and flexible organizational structure at the company.{{cite web|last=Joel|first=Kurtzman|title=An Interview with Jeffrey Pfeffer|url=http://www.strategy-business.com/article/19215?gko=3ee5a|publisher=Strategy+Business}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/online/21/sanity.html |title=Sanity Inc |work=Fast Company |date=December 31, 1998 |last=Fishman |first=Charles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930183608/http://www.fastcompany.com/online/21/sanity.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}

File:Jim Goodnight.jpg in Cologny, Geneva.]]

HSM Global described Goodnight's leadership style in a framework of three pillars: "help employees do their best work by keeping them intellectually challenged and by removing distractions; make managers responsible for sparking creativity; eliminate arbitrary distinctions between 'suits' and 'creatives'; engage customers as creative partners to help deliver superior products."{{citation|publisher=HSM Global|title=Building a Winning Corporate Culture – Jim Goodnight and SAS}}

In 1981, Goodnight was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.[http://www.amstat.org/awards/fellowslist.cfm View/Search Fellows of the ASA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616161612/https://www.amstat.org/awards/fellowslist.cfm |date=2016-06-16 }}, accessed 2016-10-15. Goodnight has been called the "Godfather of AI" for his role in the creation of SAS.{{Cite web |last=Ioannou |first=Lori |date=2019-11-04 |title=Jim Goodnight, the 'Godfather of A.I.,' predicts the future fate of the US workforce |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/04/godfather-of-ai-predicts-the-future-fate-of-the-us-workforce.html |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=CNBC |language=en}}

In 1997, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#business}} In 2004, he was named a Great American Business Leader by Harvard Business School.{{Cite web |title=Jim Goodnight |url=https://www.weforum.org/people/jim-goodnight/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=World Economic Forum}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century: James H. Goodnight|url=https://www.hbs.edu/leadership/20th-century-leaders/Pages/details.aspx?profile=james_h_goodnight|access-date=February 3, 2021|website=Harvard Business School}} That same year he was named one of America's 25 Most Fascinating Entrepreneurs by Inc. Magazine.{{cite news|newspaper=Inc. Magazine|title=James Goodnight, SAS|url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/20040401/25goodnight.html|first=Donna|last=Fenn|access-date=December 13, 2012}} He has also been a frequent speaker and participant at the World Economic Forum. In March 2020, Jim Goodnight was awarded a CEO Great Place to Work For All Leadership Award by Great Place to Work.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sas-jim-goodnight-honored-with-ceo-great-place-to-work-for-all-leadership-award-301015731.html|title=SAS' Jim Goodnight honored with CEO Great Place to Work® For All Leadership Award|last=SAS|website=www.prnewswire.com|language=en|access-date=2020-03-05}}

Goodnight met his wife, Ann, while he was a senior at North Carolina State University and she was attending Meredith College. They have been married for over 50 years and have three children.{{Cite web|url=http://www.waltermagazine.com/art-and-culture/letter_art_world/ann-goodnight-collects-art-and-north-carolina-benefits/|title=Ann Goodnight collects art and North Carolina benefits {{!}} Walter Magazine|date=31 March 2014 |language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-17}}

Goodnight has an interest in rock collecting. As a child, Goodnight would collect quartzes and arrowheads in the Greensboro area. He rediscovered his interest in geology in adulthood and began collecting rare rocks and other natural objects. In addition to minerals, he has also collected fossilized wood, dinosaur eggs and arrowheads from the Archaic period in North Carolina (dating between 8,000 BC and 1,000 BC). His collection includes hundreds of pieces, coming from over 40 countries.{{Cite web |last=zonker |date=2014-10-31 |title=Natural treasures: The extraordinary collection of Dr. Jim Goodnight |url=https://waltermagazine.com/art-and-culture/natural-treasures-the-extraordinary-collection-of-dr-jim-goodnight/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=WALTER Magazine |language=en-US}} Goodnight has described rocks and minerals as a genre of art.{{Cite news |date=2003-11-05 |title=Rock Collection Lines the Walls Of Software Executive's Office |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB106799933779233700 |access-date=2024-04-20 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}

Parts of the collection are exhibited on the SAS campus in Cary, North Carolina. The display has been described as "a testament to his love of unique pieces of earth, from petrified dinosaur eggs, to impressive, mosaic chunks of native granite, to large, glassy meteorites."{{Cite web |last=Hemsoth |first=Nicole |date=2012-07-03 |title=Chips, Stats & Stones: A Morning with SAS CEO Dr. Jim Goodnight |url=https://www.datanami.com/2012/07/03/chips_stats_rocks_a_morning_with_sas_ceo_dr-_james_goodnight/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Datanami}} Goodnight has loaned pieces from his collection to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for the enjoyment of the public. A selection of pieces are displayed in the Betsy M. Bennett Bridge to Discovery, which links the museum to its Nature Research Center.

In April 2023, Goodnight's net worth was estimated at US$7.4 billion, making him the richest person in North Carolina, ahead of Epic Games' Tim Sweeney. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his net worth to be US$11 billion in April 2024.{{Cite news |date=2023-10-30 |title=Bloomberg Billionaires Index |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}

Goodnight has an interest in improving the state of education, particularly elementary and secondary education.{{Cite web|last=Judson|first=Andie|date=27 February 2017|title=Forbes: Richest person in North Carolina|url=https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/forbes-richest-person-in-north-carolina/275-415576989|access-date=2020-11-02|website=WCNC|language=en-US}} He has advocated for increased funding for STEM education in the United States to prevent brain-drain and the outsourcing of research and technology jobs to other countries.{{Cite web |title=SAS Institute CEO Jim Goodnight on Building Strong Companies -- and a More Competitive U.S. Workforce |url=https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/podcast/knowledge-at-wharton-podcast/sas-institute-ceo-jim-goodnight-on-building-strong-companies-and-a-more-competitive-u-s-workforce/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Knowledge at Wharton |language=en-US}} In 1996, Goodnight and his wife, along with his business partner, John Sall and his wife Ginger, founded an independent prep school Cary Academy.{{citation|url=http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2660|title=SAS Institute CEO Jim Goodnight on Building Strong Companies – and a More Competitive U.S. Workforce|date=January 5, 2011|access-date=December 12, 2012}} He has advocated for restructuring preschool funding in North Carolina to extend access to more children in the state.{{Cite web |date=2019-08-14 |title=SAS CEO Jim Goodnight: Change NC's pre-K funding to reach more children |url=https://ncchamber.com/2019/08/14/goodnight-change-ncs-pre-k-funding-to-reach-more-children/ |website=NC Chamber}}

The Goodnights have engaged in various philanthropic activities related to North Carolina State University. They created the Goodnight Scholarships, including the Goodnight Scholars Program and the Goodnight Transfer Scholars Program, which provides full tuition scholarships and development programs to students in STEM.{{Cite web |title=Goodnight Scholarships |url=https://goodnight.ncsu.edu/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Goodnight Scholarships |language=en-US}} Their endowments have also created the Goodnight Doctoral Fellowship, 28 named faculty positions, and a deanship at North Carolina State.{{Cite web |title=Goodnight Doctoral Fellowship |url=https://grad.ncsu.edu/goodnight-doctoral-fellowship/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=The Graduate School |language=en-US}}

The Goodnights also founded the Goodnight Educational Foundation in 2005.{{Cite web |title=Goodnight Educational Foundation - Company Profile and News |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/1288320D:US |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Bloomberg.com |language=en}} The foundation has supported the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities' Science of Reading Initiative.{{Cite web |date=2021-12-03 |title=Goodnight Foundation Supports NCICU's Science of Reading Initiative – NCICU |url=https://ncicu.org/2021/12/03/goodnight-foundation-supports-ncicus-science-of-reading-initiative/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |language=en-US}} In 2023, the Goodnight Distinguished Professorship in Early Literacy at Western Carolina University was established with a $1.5 million endowment from the foundation.{{Cite web |author=Bill Studenc |date=2023-03-14 |title=New professorship in early literacy established with $1.5M from Goodnight Foundation |url=https://www.wcu.edu/stories/posts/new-professorship-in-early-literacy-established-with-15m-from-goodnight-foundation.aspx |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Western Carolina University |language=en}} Goodnight has also contributed to the William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation.{{Cite web |date=2021-08-18 |title=James Goodnight |url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/guide-to-individual-donors/james-goodnight.html |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Inside Philanthropy |language=en-US}}

The Goodnights have also donated to causes such as wildlife conservation and historical preservation.{{Cite web |date=2019-05-02 |title=SAS, Goodnight keep demonstrating the power to do good {{!}} WRAL TechWire |url=https://wraltechwire.com/2019/05/02/sas-goodnight-keep-demonstrating-the-power-to-do-good/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=wraltechwire.com |language=en-US}} They sponsored the Jim and Ann Goodnight Museum Park, part of the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.{{Cite web |last=Kowalksi |first=Emily |date=2016-11-04 |title=The Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park |url=https://ncartmuseum.org/the-ann-and-jim-goodnight-museum-park/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=North Carolina Museum of Art |language=en-US}} In 2018, Goodnight and his wife were awarded by the North Carolina Museum of History for their contributions to the preservation of North Carolina history.{{Cite web |last=Intern |first=Editorial |date=2019-01-08 |title=N.C. Museum of History Hosts Foundation Philanthropy Awards |url=https://waltermagazine.com/whirl/north-carolina-museum-of-history-foundation-philanthropy-awards-presentation/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=WALTER Magazine |language=en-US}} He is a patron of the Carolina Ballet.{{Cite web |date=2021-08-18 |title=James Goodnight |url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/guide-to-individual-donors/james-goodnight.html |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Inside Philanthropy |language=en-US}}

Both of the Goodnights are also involved in the local Cary, North Carolina, community. He has invested heavily in real estate in Cary, which - in addition to tax revenue generated by SAS and the attraction of thousands of employees - has contributed to the town's growth since the 1970s. He has also invested in the development of the neighboring community of Chatham Park.{{Cite web |title=SAS' NEXT MOVE |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2023/09/01/sas-public-offering-ipo-jim-goodnight-cary-legacy.html |website=www.bizjournals.com}}{{Cite web |last=Barkin |first=Dan |date=2023-09-11 |title=Cary's growth not just due to natural advantages |url=https://businessnc.com/carys-growth-not-just-due-to-natural-advantages/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Business North Carolina |language=en-US}} He owns Prestonwood Country Club and The Umstead Hotel and Spa situated on the edge of the SAS campus.{{cite news|newspaper=Raleigh News and Observer|url=http://www.biostat.wustl.edu/~phil/stuff/bigjim.html|title=Citizen Goodnight|date=July 21, 1996|access-date=December 6, 2011}}{{cite web|title=The Umstead Hotel, Umstead Spa, And Herons Offer Five Star Luxury In The Triangle|url=http://raleightelegram.com/201205291814|publisher=The Raleigh Telegram|access-date=7 February 2013}}{{cite web|title=Ann Goodnight planning upscale restaurant near hotel|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2005/02/14/story4.html?page=all|publisher=Triangle Business Journal|access-date=7 February 2013}}

• List of Americans by net worth
• List of Tau Kappa Epsilon brothers
• Prestonwood Country Club

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{citation|url=http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/I-0073/menu.html|title=Oral History Interview with Jim Goodnight|publisher=Oral Histories of the American South}}
• {{cite news|first=Rich|last=Karklgaard|newspaper=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0822/opinions-rich-karlgaard-innovation-rules-jim-goodnight.html|title=Jim Goodnight: King of Analytics}}

{{commons category|James Goodnight}}

• [http://www.sas.com/company/about/bios/jgoodnight.html Goodnight's official Bio]

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Category:1943 births

Category:American billionaires

Category:American technology chief executives

Category:American statisticians

Category:Businesspeople in software

Category:Living people

Category:Businesspeople from North Carolina

Category:New Hanover High School alumni

Category:North Carolina State University alumni

Category:People from Cary, North Carolina

Category:People from Salisbury, North Carolina

Category:Fellows of the American Statistical Association

Category:Activists from North Carolina

Category:American technology company founders

Category:SAS Institute people