# James Goodnight

_American businessman_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/james-goodnight
Last updated: 2026-10-30

> James Howard Goodnight is an American billionaire businessman and software developer. He has been the CEO of SAS since 1976, which he co-founded that year with other faculty members of North Carolina State University. As of 2025, his net worth was estimated at US$18.5 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index and he is regarded as the richest person in North Carolina.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 6 January 1943 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q92733#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Salisbury ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q92733#P19))
- **Citizenship:** United States ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q92733#P27))
- **Occupation:** entrepreneur; statistician; businessperson; computer scientist; artificial intelligence researcher ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q92733#P106))
- **Education:** North Carolina State University; New Hanover High School ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q92733#P69))
- **Awards:** Fellow of the American Statistical Association ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q92733#P166))

## Questions

**When was James Goodnight born?**  
James Goodnight was born on 6 January 1943 in Salisbury.

**Where did James Goodnight study?**  
James Goodnight was educated at North Carolina State University, New Hanover High School.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): James Goodnight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Goodnight) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q92733](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q92733) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Jim Goodnight.jpg by World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland (CC BY-SA 2.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jim_Goodnight.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article James Goodnight, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Jim Goodnight.jpg — World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland, CC BY-SA 2.0.

## Cite this page

"James Goodnight". DigiNepal. Last updated 30 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/james-goodnight. Retrieved 6 November 2026.