Venus Williams

Venus Williams is a seven-time Grand Slam champion, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, and one of the most successful female athletes in both sports and business. Her career prize money exceeds $42 million, and her endorsement portfolio has included Nike (replaced by Reebok, then EleVen by Venus), Wilson, Tide, and multiple fashion and lifestyle brands. But it is her business ventures that set her apart from most athlete-entrepreneurs.

EleVen by Venus, her activewear brand, designs and sells performance clothing and accessories through major retailers and direct-to-consumer. V Starr Interiors, her interior design firm, has completed projects for residential and commercial clients and positions Williams as a legitimate design professional, not a celebrity hobbyist. She also holds a minority ownership stake in the Miami Dolphins, making her and sister Serena among the few female athlete-owners of an NFL franchise.

Williams was a pioneer in the fight for equal prize money in tennis, successfully campaigning for Wimbledon and the French Open to match men's and women's purses. That activism directly increased the career earnings of every female tennis player who came after her. Her net worth of $95 million reflects a career built on athletic excellence, business diversification, and a willingness to use her platform for structural change in the sport she dominated.