Serena Williams Has Made More Than $94 Million From Tennis Prizes Alone
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Serena Williams is undeniably one of the biggest tennis legends to ever step foot on a court.
She’s won 73 single titles, 23 Grand Slam single titles, 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, and 4 Olympic Gold Medals. So, it's safe to say she's been lighting the tennis world on fire since she went professional in 1995.
But even the greats have to step away at some point, as Serena, 40, explained in a Vogue essay published Tuesday morning. In the piece, she explained that she is “evolving away from tennis" and will be retiring after the upcoming U.S. Open.
“I’ve been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis," she writes. But, Serena is moving on to a different chapter of her life, one where she can focus on her various business ventures, and hopefully, have more children, she shared in her essay.
"I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair," she said. "A lot of people don’t realize that I was two months pregnant when I won the Australian Open in 2017. But I’m turning 41 this month, and something’s got to give."
With GOAT status comes some serious coins. And it looks like Serena will have a lot more time for her various ventures moving forward. So what is Serena's net worth and how does she make all her money?
She has earned more than $94 million in career prize money.
Not only is Serena the highest earning woman in tennis according to the Women’s Tennis Association, but her prize money is nearly double the next highest earner.
That second-highest earner is, of course, Serena’s sister Venus, who has won $42 million over the course of her career.
How much did she make in 2021?
Serena made a whopping $45.3 million in 2021 alone, landing her on the Forbes list of the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes. She moved all the way up to 10th highest-paid athlete when the news outlet factored in outside earnings.
She earns millions from her endorsements.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Serena has a ~lot~ of endorsement deals. In fact, she has more than a dozen endorsement deals, according to Insider.
Serena has signed lucrative deals with brands like Nike, Kraft Foods, Subway, DIRECTV, Wilson, Gatorade, Delta Air Lines, Aston Martin, Pepsi, Beats by Dre, JP Morgan Chase, Audemars Piguet, Bumble, Upper Deck, IBM, and Intel. The list goes on.
She has also worked as the Chief Sporting Officer for luxury car brand Aston Martin since 2015.
in 2003, a then-21-year-old Serena inked a famous deal with Nike that brought in millions. The tennis star’s original contract was for five years, with potential earnings of up to $40 million, according to ESPN. The outlet also reported that should the contract be extended to eight years, earnings could hit $55 million, making it the largest single endorsement deal signed by a female athlete at that time.
She has founded lots of charities.
Even with all that success and her busy schedule, Serena has also been very big on giving back. She has founded a number of charities including The Serena Williams Foundation, which promotes equity through education, and the Williams Sisters Fund. The latter was formed to support the sisters’ various philanthropic ventures.
The two also founded the Yetunde Price Resource Center in Compton, CA, which the sisters founded in honor of their eldest sister, Yetunde, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2003. The community center focuses on helping family members who have been affected by violence, according to Essence.
She has a clothing line.
Someone who dresses as fabulously as Serena is contractually obligated to own a clothing line. And I am happy to report that Serena does! S by Serena offers all sorts of sexy dresses, body suits, and of course a sweatshirt that says GOAT.
It's not clear how much this line brings in for Serena, but items sell for pretty reasonable prices, dresses are $89 and up, and shirts and bodysuits start at $49.
She has her own venture capital firm.
Serena's venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, raised an inaugural fund of $111 million in 2022, according to The New York Times. When the firm was first announced in March, it already had more than 60 angel investments in its portfolio including SendWave, MasterClass, and Daily Harvest.
“I’ve always been fascinated with technology, and I’ve always loved how it really shapes our lives,” Serena told the Times. “When I met my husband, that was our first conversation. That’s how we met. I was talking about investments.” BTW, Serena is married to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. More on that in a sec.
She has a stake in the Miami Dolphins.
Yup, sports all around. Serena and Venus bought a minority stake in the Miami Dolphins in 2009, joining A-listers like Jimmy Buffet and Jennifer Lopez, who were also minority owners at the time, according to ESPN.
This move made them the first Black women to own a minority stake in the NFL, according to Sportscasting.com.
Her husband is also worth a lot of money.
Back to Alexis for a moment. The Reddit co-founder is reportedly worth $40 million, according to CelebrityNetWorth.
What's her total net worth?
When all is said and done, Serena's net worth comes out to about $260 million, according to Forbes. Combined with her hubby Alexis, the family has a total net worth of about $300 million. Phew!
I can’t wait to see what Serena does next.
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