Serena Williams just made history! The 37-year-old tennis player has countless championships and grand slams under her belt, she's a wife and a mother. If that's not enough, she's adding another title to her stacked resume. Serena was named one of Forbes' Richest Self-Made Women. There are entrepreneurs, singers and actresses on the prestigious list, but Serena made history by being the first athlete receiving the honor.
Serena Williams was named one of Forbes' Richest Self-Made Women
According to Forbes, Serena made the list with her whopping net worth of $225 million. "Be the brand," she wrote on her social media, celebrating the magazine cover. "Honored to be the first athlete on @Forbes #SelfMadeWomen list." And sure, a large amount of that paper might be from her tennis career, but in the last few years, Serena has been venturing out into the startup world and has invested in a total of 34 startup businesses.
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In 2014, she started her own venture fund Serena Ventures, which "invests in companies that embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity and opportunity." Some of these companies—Billie, HoneyLove, Floravere and Brandless, among others—which she's invested in within the last five years, are founded by women and minorities.
“I want to be a part of it,” she said during her interview. “I want to be in the infrastructure. I want to be the brand, instead of just being the face.”
She is also the very first athlete to have this honor and make the list
When speaking about her mentors, there's one that is the best—her husband Alexis Ohanian. Alexis, who is the co-founder of Reddit and has an estimated $70 million net worth, met Serena in 2015 and now have one child together Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. “I’ve been really leaning on Alexis,” she shared, while Alexis praised his wife's ambition. “She is determined to be great at everything she does.”
The final Richest Self-Made Women list included other powerful women, including Kylie Jenner ($1 billion), Beyoncé ($400 million) and Taylor Swift ($360 million).