Serena Williams Becomes First Athlete On Forbes' Richest Self-Made Women List

Serena Williams has become the first athlete to make Forbes ’ annual list of the richest self-made women .

The magazine announced the tennis star’s accomplishment on Monday, one day ahead of the publication of its full 2019 list . Forbes estimates that Williams who will also be featured on the cover of its June 30 special issue has an estimated fortune of $225 million.

Though she’s known as a 23-time Grand Slam champion, Williams is also a venture capitalist. In April, she publicly announced  her venture firm, Serena Ventures , which she’s been running in “secret ” since 2014.

“Serena Ventures invests in companies that embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity and opportunity,” she wrote in her Instagram announcement. 

The venture firm launched a self-funded clothing line called S by Serena last May, Forbes reported.

Speaking about her venture firm, brands and investments, which include the dating app Bumble and a list of over 30 startups, according to Forbes, she told the magazine: “I want to be a part of it. I want to be in the infrastructure. I want to be the brand, instead of just being the face.”

Forbes reports that 60% of the Williams’ investments have gone to companies led by women or people of color.

Williams is a global adviser to Verizon Media, HuffPost’s parent company.

Williams, who has 1-year-old daughter, Alexis Olympia, with her husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian , recently competed in the 2019 French Open .

The 37-year-old shared words of encouragement over the weekend after losing to Sofia Kenin in the third round of the major tournament. 

“Yesterday was not my day,” she wrote on Instagram . “But it’s about getting up time and time again after you fall. Here’s to a multitude of tomorrows.”

Ohanian shared a photo of Williams’ Forbes cover on Instagram on Monday.

“Icon,” he wrote .