Serena Williams learned money management early on in her teens.
Thanks to her father, Richard, Serena has received a wealth of knowledge to apply to the business landscape. In fact, during an interview on Bloomberg Originals’ “The Deal” podcast, hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, she recalls receiving substantial checks from companies including Puma. Per Andscape, Serena had reportedly received $13 million over a five-year period with the apparel brand.
What’s more, the task of managing those earnings fell entirely on her.
“Literally, my first checks from whether it was Puma, like I got these huge checks. [My dad], he’s like, you figure it out. We had to figure it out,” Serena said on the podcast. “I’m literally living at his house in the bedroom next to Venus. I was 16 and he’s like, you know, most parents, you know, they take your money. They take something. But you know, he’s like, ‘You figure it out.’ And so I remember having to figure that out and having to learn how to manage from a very early age. Yeah. And not get crazy with it. And so he empowered us to do that.”
Serena has clearly exceeded expectations in implementing that advice, and this was made possible through more than a dozen endorsement deals, as well as her involvement in co-founding companies such as Will Perform and Nine Two Six Productions.
“For me, success right now is having great investments,” she told hosts Rodriguez and Kelly.
Serena leads her own venture capital firm, and through it and personal investments she has funded 16 companies that have gone on to unicorn status.
