Serena Williams

With 23 Grand Slam titles and an estimated $225 million fortune, Serena Williams has dominated the tennis world for some time. Lately, she’s been working on ways to parlay her brand--and her 30-odd million social media followers--into new wins. In 2018, she launched fashion line S by Serena and patented cosmetics brand Aneres. Perhaps most impressively, the sports icon has quietly scattered an estimated $6 million in investments across more than 30 startups over the past five years. Five of her investments are reportedly up at least five-fold, and the value of her portfolio has reportedly doubled to more than $10 million. In April, Williams and former JPMorgan asset manager Alison Rapaport announced the launch of her eponymous fund, Serena Ventures. The vision: to support (and generate returns from) startups run by women and people of color. Its portfolio includes women’s co-working space the Wing, sculptwear startup Honeylove, and kids clothing site Rockets of Awesome. --Zoë Henry