In 1964, Phil Knight, a young college student and track star, dreamed of a company that could succeed by selling Asian-made sneakers in the United States. Since that time, Nike has become a multi-billion dollar giant. Currently, Phil Knight has the 6th highest fortune in the US. According to Nike's annual report, the company is pulling in upwards of $9 billion annually, with almost $800 million in profits. Much of that income is spent on advertising - over $1 billion.

Nike's world headquarters is in Beaverton, Oregon (Niketown), but 99% of the employees are in Asia where Nike employs hundreds of thousands of workers. Until the 1980's, Nike had a number of factories in the United States. However, these were closed, putting over 2,000 workers on the street. Instead, Nike moved even more manufacturing into Asia, where labor is cheap and the governments aid Nike by using military actions to prevent labor strife. Nike's presence in Asia has spanned Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea. Today, Nike's largest sub-contractors are in China, Indonesia and Vietnam.