Serena Williams just made history by landing on Forbes' world's richest self-made women list

From ELLE
Serena Williams has made history as the first athlete to land herself a spot on Forbes’ list of the World’s Richest Self-Made Women, according to the global media company.

“The 23-time Grand Slam champion made the list as a result of her estimated fortune of $224m (about £177m), with Forbes stating that the sports star’s impressive wealth is a result of her “brain and brand rather than her backhand”.

Williams has invested in 34 start-up business over the past five years, with the 37-year-old tennis star telling the publication: “I want to be in the infrastructure. I want to be the brand, instead of just being the face.”

Forbes also reports that 60 per cent of Williams’ investments to date have gone to companies led by women or people of colour.

In 2014, (yes I know I can keep a secret) I launched Serena Ventures with the mission of giving opportunities to founders across an array of industries. Serena Ventures invests in companies that embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity and opportunity. Slide right to see a few brands in our portfolio. We have so many exciting things coming up! Learn more at serenaventures.com. Link in bio.

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Apr 17, 2019 at 5:59am PDT

Williams recently announced that she launched Serena Ventures back in 2014, which “invests in companies that embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity and opportunity”.

Meanwhile, the tennis champion has also dipped her toe into the beauty and wellness industry with an investment in Asutra, a self-care brand based in the United States, which also happens to make one of her favourite beauty products

“I love [Asutra’s] focus on active self care”, Williams said in her interview with WWD. “Obviously I live and breathe that, and I was able to use their products as part of actively taking care of myself. I also love that their products work and they use all natural ingredients, so you can use the products for your mind, body and soul.

“That was a huge appeal for me and just fit right into my lifestyle.”

Williams has a 1-year-old daughter Olympia with husband Alexis Ohanian.