Serena Williams has earned a lot of money – on and off the court.
After almost 40 major titles, four Olympic gold medals and almost $100million in prize money it may surprise some that most of her riches doesn’t come from tennis.
When you’re as successful as Williams was in tennis, the money inevitably follows you.
And the American superstar and built a $340 million empire over the last 20 years to go with an incredible trophy haul.
Williams in her illustrious career won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, four Olympic Gold medals, completed the calendar slam twice and won 14 majors with her sister Venus.
With 73 titles in total, Williams went on to earn an astonishing $94.8 million in career prize money, no other women’s tennis player has earned more.
When it comes to endorsements, Williams – who retired in September 2022 – also had a knack for attracting huge sums.
In 1998, when Williams was just 17-years-old she inked a deal with Puma, making her $13 million in the first few years of her career.
In December 2003, she left the company to join Nike on an eight-year endorsement deal, worth up to $55 million with performance incentives.
During her 27-year career, Williams also secured deals with some of the world’s biggest brands like Disney, Ford, Gatorade, and Gucci.
After retiring, Williams was the second-highest paid female athlete in the world, earning $45 million but despite the eye-watering sums made from tennis, Williams’ off-court activity has taken her fortune through the roof.
Williams is now a powerhouse in venture capitalism and it has grown her net worth to $340 million with smart business investments.
Her VC fund call is Serena Ventures and has invested in 85 companies, 14 of which have been ‘unicorn’ companies, a term used to describe organizations that reach the billion dollar mark rapidly.
It’s rare for companies to be labelled as unicorn and it’s even more stunning that Williams has 14 of them in one portfolio.
Such companies include Impossible Foods, the plant-based food production company, and Masterclass, which is valued at $2.75bn.
Alongside investing in startups, Williams has also invested in sports.
She and sister Venus became minority shareholders in Miami Dolphins in 2009 – a franchise now valued at $6.2bn, per Forbes.
Williams also owns the Los Angeles Golf Club – part of Tiger Woods and Rory’s McIlroy’s TGL venture – alongside her husband Alexis Ohanian.
Also dabbling in media, Williams owns production company Nine Two Six and wrote a children’s book called The Adventures of Qai Qai.
The media company has multiple projects in the works including a soccer documentary, ‘Copa 71’, which she will executive produce along with Venus.
Alongside being the most successful female tennis player in the Open Era, Williams is one of America’s richest self-made women.
