James Goodnight

**James Goodnight** is an American software programmer and billionaire who co-founded SAS Institute.

## Early life

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 April 2023, his net worth was estimated at US$7.4 billion, making him the richest person in North Carolina.

## Early life and education

Goodnight was born in Salisbury, North Carolina, on January 6, 1943. He worked at his father's hardware store as a child. Goodnight became a student at North Carolina State University (NCSU) where he first started writing software. In 1968, he got his master's degree in statistics from NCSU. He left to work on the Apollo program, building communication equipment used by the Apollo space missions. Afterwards, he went back to NCSU to get his PhD in statistics. He was a faculty member at the university from 1972 to 1976.

## Career

Goodnight worked together with other developers at NCSU to create a statistical analysis system for agriculture. The program eventually became the SAS software program. Goodnight and his team members Anthony James Barr, John Sall and Jane Helwig left the college to found a company called SAS Institute, which develops SAS software. The company's software is used for data management, analytics and artificial intelligence.

Goodnight has been CEO of SAS Institute for over 45 years. The company made $138,000 in its first year, and grew to make $3.2 billion in 2022. It is one of the largest privately held software providers in the world. The company is known for being a good work environment for employees, and having efficient management.

In 1981, Goodnight is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. Goodnight has been called the "Godfather of AI" for helping create SAS.

## Personal life

Goodnight met his wife, Ann, while they were both in college. He was studying at North Carolina State University and she was studying at Meredith College. They have three children together.

Goodnight has loaned items from his rock and fossil collection to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences so that the public can view them.

### Wealth and charity

Goodnight is the richest person in North Carolina, and had a net worth of US$11 billion in April 2024.

Goodnight has worked to improve education, especially in areas like science and mathematics. In 1996, Goodnight founded the prep school Cary Academy with his wife Ann, his business partner John Sall, and Sall's wife Ginger.

The Goodnights have donated to North Carolina State University to create scholarships and educational fellowships for students and faculty at the university. They founded the Goodnight Educational Foundation in 2005. The foundation has donated to the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities' Science of Reading Initiative and Western Carolina University.

The Goodnights have also donated to wildlife conservation and historical preservation. They sponsored the Jim and Ann Goodnight Museum Park, part of the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.

He and his wife have invested in the town Cary, North Carolina, where they live. He owns Prestonwood Country Club and The Umstead Hotel and Spa.

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: James Goodnight
- **image**: Drgoodnight.jpg
- **other names**: Jim Goodnight
- **birth name**: James Howard Goodnight
- **birth place**: Salisbury, North Carolina, U.S.
- **education**: North Carolina State University
- **occupation**: Businessman and software developer
- **title**: CEO, SAS Institute, SAS
- **term**: 1976–
- **spouse**: Ann Goodnight
- **children**: 3