All hail Serena Williams, the world's richest self-made female athlete
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- Megan Murray
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Serena Williams has made a Forbes first; all hail her mightiness.
We’ll never get bored of singing Serena Williams’ praises. Which is handy, really, because her achievements just continue to stack up.
Not only is her professional career mind-blowing (the Women’s Tennis Association has ranked her world No. 1 in singles eight times), she’s known for being a supportive friend, an advocate of women’s rights, an influencer of fashion and an important voice in challenging stereotypes around women at work and in sport.
But her latest accolade is so impressive, that even with our existing knowledge of her greatness, had us reeling for a second.
It has been announced that Williams is the first athlete to make Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women list, with an estimated fortune of $225 million.
Obviously, this is an incredible achievement. Williams’ hard work and drive is what has built her empire, making her one of the most successful athletes of all time.
But her fortune and new title are not all down to her tennis skills and success on the courts, or even in the sports industry. Williams has been building her portfolio of startup investments over the last few years, and announced the launch of her investment company, Serena Ventures, in April this year.
Williams now plans to focus on investing in companies started by women and minorities, pioneering good business sense with actually doing good, too. Really, could we love her anymore?
The reaction on Twitter to the news has been overwhelmingly supportive, with many of hers fans congratulating her on her staggering success.
One Twitter user wrote: “I love the self-made title because we know it wasn’t given to her by her parents. Queen put in the hard work on and off the tennis court to accumulate her wealth. I am so proud of her.”
Another Twitter user said: “Yes, Serena Williams, you worked for it!! You go, girl, you are truly a great idol, for anyone to look up to. Looking forward to seeing you again soon on the court.”
While a third tweeted: “Congratulation Serena!! You Work hard at everything you achieve and still more to come!!”
For some, though, only a meme will do. We’ll let these do the talking…
We love to see a woman succeed, and Williams is certainly doing that. Here’s to many more firsts for this champion on and off the court.
Images: Getty