Serena Williams just achieved a major career milestone, and it’s so well-deserved
She’s a tennis icon, a fashion superstar, and a fierce mother. And now, according to Forbes, Serena Williams is officially on the list of the World’s Richest Self-Made Women. What’s more is that Williams is actually the first athlete to ever make the list.
Most of Williams’ approximately $225 million fortune has been earned with her brain rather than her backhand, as the Forbes article states. In the last five years, she’s invested in 34 startups, most of which are led by women or POC. She also simultaneously started and backed her own business, Serena Ventures, which helps other companies get funding for their own launches.
It’s been a long road for Williams to see her name on this list.
Before starting Serena Ventures, she lost a whopping $250,000 in a startup at the beginning of her business career. “I learned you can’t overspend, but I also learned that I love seed investing,” she said of the blunder. “It’s fun to get in there. I don’t gamble. I don’t jump off buildings. I’m the most non-taking-a-chance kind of a person, but I felt like seed was where we wanted to be.”
While building her brand and expanding her reach into the fashion world—she’s launching a jewelry line in 2020—Williams has no plans to hang up her tennis racket any time soon. At 37, she’s giving herself another three years before thinking about retirement.
“I am in no rush to get out of this sport, she told Forbes. But as for Serena Ventures: "I want to create a brand that has longevity, kind of like my career, she said. “It’s not fancy, it’s not here, it’s not out, it’s not trendy, it’s a staple, like my tennis game."
With so much ambition and the brains to achieve anything, we absolutely cannot wait to see what Serena dives into next.
