Serena Williams Net Worth

As of 9/6/16, the Serena Williams net worth sum of $135 million comes from her status as the #1 player in women’s singles tennis, plus resulting endorsement clout. The star has $194.8 million in career earnings. Taxes and expenses take $106 million and investments add back $45 million. Of her total earnings, $80 million comes from tennis prize money since 1995. $104 million comes from major endorsement deals and another $13 million from sales of merchandise and appearance fees for TV shows and movies. Williams reportedly broke her rackets after losing the 2016 French open. One attitude adjustment later she is in fine shape at the US Open.

What a pic

A photo posted by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Sep 4, 2016 at 3:04pm PDT

Serena Williams Net Worth Facts

The Serena Williams net worth figure of $133.6 million is twice as big as sister and tennis star Venus Williams’ net worth of $73 million. It’s 50% bigger than Maria Sharapova’s fortune of $90 million and 11 times bigger than retired 80’s tennis sensation Jimmy Connors’ net worth of $12 million. Roger Federer’s net worth of $350 million is three times bigger than the Serena Williams net worth sum, which is 24% smaller than Andre Agassi’s $175 million savings. Outside the world of tennis, Williams’ net worth is just 20% shy of Spanish footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s net worth of $167 million and 40% smaller than LeBron James’ $223 million. Williams has just 1/3rd the net worth of Beyonce’s $336 million. Finally, the Serena Williams net worth figure of $133.6 million is 1,965 times bigger than the net worth of the median American family at $68,000. Williams has won the U.S. Open six times, the French Open three times, the Australian Open six times and Wimbledon six times. That puts her second only to Steffi Graf in terms of lifetime Major wins. Graf’s earlier career netted her far less prize money and endorsement earnings, giving her a much smaller net worth of $30 million.

Serena Williams Net Worth Timeline

The Serena Williams net worth timeline above comes from three sources: A report of her prize money from the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), a deep analysis of all her endorsement deals since 1999, and a look at her other more minor income streams like merchandise royalties and TV appearances. Based on her record, Williams amassed less than $1 million per year in the years from 1995 through 1998. After her U.S. Open win in 1999, her prize money take took a steep curve upward to the neighborhood of $2.6 million per year. In that same year the endorsement money started flooding in thanks to a big multi-year contract with Puma that brought her $13 million over the next five years. Wins at the U.S. Open in 2002, 2008 and 2012 through 2014, plus 15 other major tournament victories boosted her average prize money to $5 million a year by 2008 and $6 million a year by 2016. Prize money for each of the four Major tournaments hovers between $2 and $3 million each. Other endorsement deals with major brands like Pepsi, Wilson, Nike and several others have pushed the Serena Williams net worth curve into steeper and steeper territory. For full prize money and endorsement details, see the sections below.

Serena Williams Net Worth Sources: Tennis and Endorsements

The Serena Williams net worth story is similar to the tales of many other champions in the 21st century. It’s one part incomparable talent and two parts fame. In the age of social media and multi-platform advertising, brand endorsements can make a celebrity very rich indeed. It doesn’t seem to matter where the initial spark of fame comes from. It can come from music as in the cases of Beyonce or Miley Cyrus, sports as in the cases of Serena Williams or Steph Curry, acting as in the case of Robert Downey Jr. or even an inappropriately released sex tape as in the case of Kim Kardashian. Once someone has reached mega-stardom, it’s the endorsement deals that bring the real dollars flying in. In Serena Williams’ case, as the chart above shows, endorsement money makes up 53% of her net worth at an estimated $104 million earned. Meanwhile, her tennis millions lag behind at 40% or $80 million. Other sources include merchandise sales at 6% or about $11 million and TV and film appearances at just shy of $2 million.

Also see: Beyonce Net Worth

Serena Williams Net Worth from Tennis: $80,154,981

Tennis is the catalyst for the entire Serena Williams net worth machine. The star has earned $80 million in prize money since 1995, according to the WTA. That includes her 2016 Wimbledon win. Each Major tournament pays off $2 million to $3 million for a win. Williams has 21 Major singles wins under her belt. That amounts to about $52.5 million. The other $25 million comes from placing in other tournaments and contests. For example, when Williams won the U.S. Open in 2014, she was awarded $3.3 million. In 2009 when she finished as a runner up, she was still awarded $800,000. The table below takes Williams’ total reported prize money and breaks it down into by-year averages based on her record over time. Williams didn’t make any money from the 2016 Olympics, but even if she’d won a gold medal she would have only made another $25,000.

Serena Williams Net Worth from Endorsements: $104,000,000

The table below shows how endorsements chip in to the Serena Williams net worth number. During her career, Williams has signed major multi-year deals with Nike, Wilson Sporting Goods, Gatorade and Puma. Smaller multi-year deals with BeatsByDre, Pepsi and McDonald’s also make a showing. Smaller one-offs include agreements with Hewlett Packard, JP Morgan, Apple and Mini. Exact dollar details of endorsement deals are rarely published. The figures in the table below are built by comparisons to other endorsement deals with celebrities where the figures are actually known. The Beats By Dre ad below focuses on Serena’s drive and determination in the face of her many setbacks. In the inspirational commercial, the athlete must put aside the taunts and traps of fame and connect with what really matters deep inside.

Also see: Nicki Minaj Net Worth

Serena Williams Net Worth from Merchandise: $11,634,747

Smaller contributions to the Serena Williams net worth numbers come from merchandise royalties at $11.6 million. Numbers for Williams’ merchandise earnings aren’t made public. The $11.6 million figure is an estimate based on 15% of winnings every year. Hats, t-shirts and two books make up just part of the star’s available merchandise. Another minor source of Williams’ net worth comes in the form of appearances on talk shows and acting roles. Williams has appeared in two movies, several episodes of TV series and a slew of talk shows. She was on Letterman six times and made multiple appearances on Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel, Oprah and Leno.

Serena Williams Net Worth Calculations

The total earnings figure of $195 million from the data above is fairly solid. The $77.5 million for tennis winnings is an officially released figure. The estimates for endorsements, merchandise and TV income are based on a deep analysis of individual income streams. The adjustments column in the table below adds necessary calculations to figure in for taxes, expenses and investments. Taxes take the form of the top U.S. federal bracket of 39.6%. No state tax affects the Serena Williams net worth amount, since the player lives in tax free Florida. Expenses estimated at 15% come from fees for agents, trainers, staff and cost of living. Investments are figured at a conservative 6% of net worth per year.

If you liked reading about Serena Williams’ net worth, try this post about Tiger Woods’ net worth or this one about LeBron James’ net worth. All Serena Williams net worth data in this article are based on our analysis of income streams, tax, expense and investment calculations, estimates and media reports and are provided here for entertainment purposes only.

Sources:

Serena Williams Prize Money