Goodnight is the chief executive officer and largest shareholder of SAS Institute, a closely held software maker. The Cary, North Carolina-based company provides software and data services to more than 83,000 sites and reported revenue of $3.1 billion in 2019. The billionaire owns two-thirds of SAS.
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The majority of Goodnight's fortune is derived from his 66% stake in SAS Institute, a closely held software company. His stake is determined from a Wharton Business School case study in 2000. Co-founder John Sall owns the balance.
SAS had revenue of $3.1 billion in 2019, according to the company. It doesn't publish any other financial information. The valuation is based on the average enterprise value-to-sales multiple of three publicly traded peers: Oracle, SAP and Microsoft.
The company's software is installed at more than 83,000 business, government and university sites, according to its website.
Shannon Heath, a spokeswoman for SAS, declined to comment on Goodnight's net worth.
Goodnight began planting the seeds for what would become SAS Institute while working on his doctorate at North Carolina State University.
Created as an analytics specialist for big pharmaceutical and agriculture businesses in 1976, the Cary, North Carolina-based outfit now provides business intelligence software and services to a broad client base, including utilities, communications companies, schools, banks and casinos.
With his wife, Ann, Goodnight co-founded an independent college preparatory day school, Cary Academy, with the goal of integrating technology into all facets of education. He also created SAS inSchool, which develops teaching software to help build stronger curriculums.