How tennis ace Serena Williams and tech guru Alexis Ohanian make and spend their millions
Serena Williams is arguably the most dominant tennis player of all time, and she's
Her husband, Alexis Ohanian, founded Reddit — the third-most-visited website in the United States.
Their astronomical wealth allows them to make fascinating investments and lead a fabulous lifestyle together.
Tech guru Alexis Ohanian and tennis superstar Serena Williams formed an incredible power couple when they began dating in the summer of 2015.
Ohanian founded the popular social media platform Reddit in 2005 and sold it to Condé Nast for at least $10 million a year later. He was 23 years old.
The Reddit deal gave Ohanian "more money for me than my entire family — my mother and father — had made in their entire lives," he said.
Source: NPR
Ohanian rejoined Reddit as an executive chairman in 2014. The website, the third-most-visited in the US, is worth more than $10 billion.
Source: CNBC
He's since resigned his post on the Reddit board, urging the company to fill his seat with a Black candidate instead.
Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian just quit the company's board in a 'long overdue' move to do the right thing, distancing himself from a site famous for racist content
Ohanian has gotten involved in several projects outside of Reddit in recent years.
He founded Initialized Capital, an early-stage venture-capital firm that boasts over $700 million in assets under management.
Source: LinkedIn
But he left in June 2020, and a year later, he announced a new VC firm called "776."
Source: Forbes
He also helped start Breadpig, a company that offers supportive services for creators and their companies. His official title was "founder and chief swine defender."
Source: LinkedIn
And he served as the "head marketing dude & Hipmunk doodler" for Hipmunk, a travel search website.
Source: LinkedIn
Williams, meanwhile, has a net worth of more than $260 million, thanks in large part to earning more than $94 million in career prize money — considerably more than any other professional women's tennis player.
Source: Business Insider
Williams has also earned millions from endorsement deals with companies like Nike, Beats by Dre, Gatorade, JPMorgan Chase, Tempur-Pedic, Aston Martin, Audemars Piguet, Intel, and Wilson.
Source: Business Insider
Additionally, she's served on the board of SurveyMonkey since May 2017.
Read more: Serena Williams could cash in on an upcoming tech IPO
She has her own clothing line with HSN, the Serena Williams Signature Statement collection.
And her venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, raised $111 million in its inaugural fund.
Source: Vogue
Williams' and Ohanian's combined wealth allows them to lead lives of opulence.
The duo met late in the spring of 2015 at the Rome Cavalieri, a luxury hotel that boasts the only restaurant in the Italian capital with three Michelin stars.
Source: Vanity Fair, Rome Cavalieri
Ohanian sat down next to Williams outside by the pool, and after trying to trick him into thinking there was a rat at his table, she and her friends invited him to join them.
Source: Vanity Fair
Ohanian had never watched Williams play — and wasn't much of a tennis fan — but he agreed to come to her match later that day.
He had recently ended his five-year relationship with his college sweetheart, Sabriya Stukes, when he met Williams.
Sources: New York Times, Vanity Fair, Business Insider
And Williams was widely rumored to be dating rapper Drake, though she insisted they were just friends.
Sources: People, Business Insider
Ohanian and Williams went on their first date in Paris the following month.
Source: Vanity Fair
Ohanian then went to watch her play in the French Open later in the week.
Source: Vanity Fair
Though the duo hadn't yet made their relationship public, Ohanian suddenly became a very outspoken tennis fan.
He even attended that year's US Open in New York.
And honestly, it seems like a miracle that no one caught on.
Williams' beloved Yorkshire terrier, Chip, debuted on Ohanian's Instagram in September 2015, well before he and Williams did.
Read more: Top athletes and their furry friends: the best pets in the world of sports
And Ohanian traveled across the world to watch Williams compete in the Australian Open.
He finally appeared in one of her photos later that year. She singled him out in a big group of friends, referring to him as a "nerd" in the caption.
Shortly afterward, he became a regular on her feed.
Ohanian proposed at the Cavalieri — where they first met — on December 10, 2016.
Williams announced the engagement on Reddit using personalized versions of the website's alien mascot, "Snoo."
Then she gave everyone on Instagram a glimpse of the ring.
Read more about Serena's love of tacos »
Her actual ring is reportedly worth more than $2 million.
Source: Hollywood Life
Ohanian jetted across the world to watch his new fianceé compete in the Australian Open in January 2017.
Perhaps he took a private jet through Wheels Up, as Williams does.
He found out just before the tournament began that he and Williams had a baby on the way.
Source: Vanity Fair
Williams, who was eight weeks pregnant, dominated the competition to win her 23rd Grand Slam.
Source: Insider
On Ohanian's birthday, Williams announced her pregnancy with an Instagram post complete with a beautiful note to the baby.
And on September 1, 2017, the couple welcomed their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., into the world.
Ever since, the three have been close to inseparable.
And their daughter has been living the good life.
She and her dad often watch Williams crush her competition from the bleachers.
She pairs Burberry dresses with Nike kicks like it's nothing.
She goes yachting in sailor's outfits.
And she has her own set of Wilson gear.
She even hangs out with tennis great Novak Djokovic.
And as she's gotten older, Olympia has shown some tennis chops that look awfully familiar.
Serena Williams' daughter, Olympia, already has some of her mom's tennis prowess at 4 years old
She became the youngest person to grace the cover of Vogue, at 3 months old.
And, like her parents, she's gotten involved in some business ventures.
—Olympia Ohanian (@OlympiaOhanian) July 21, 2020
She's officially the youngest owner of a professional sports team.
Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams' daughter, Olympia, just became the youngest team owner in pro sports
Her mom and dad also got some ownership stake in the new National Women's Soccer League team based out of Los Angeles.
Natalie Portman, Serena Williams, and more than a dozen women's soccer icons are part of a star-studded ownership group for NWSL expansion team in LA
Nearly a month after Olympia's birth in 2017, Ohanian and Williams tied the knot in an opulent wedding in Louisiana.
Williams wore an estimated $3.5 million worth of jewelry at the ceremony.
Source: Business Insider
And she changed designer dresses three times.
Source: Business Insider
They even had a carousel in the center of the room.
Source: Business Insider
Less than a year later, Williams and Ohanian attended one of the only ceremonies more extravagant than their own: the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle in England.
Williams and Ohanian have a mutual love of football.
Williams and her sister, Venus, became partial owners of the Miami Dolphins in 2009.
Source: ESPN
And Ohanian's first purchase after selling Reddit was field-level season tickets to Washington's football franchise for himself and his father.
Source: CNBC
At one point, Ohanian, Williams, and their daughter lived in a $6.7 million home in Beverly Hills, California — but they've since listed that property for sale.
They spend most of their time in Florida, where they own a stunning property in Palm Beach Gardens.
Williams even has a trophy room there.
The couple has homes in Paris and Bel Air.
Though they lead a lavish lifestyle, Ohanian and Williams are also very philanthropic.
Williams established the Serena Williams Fund to promote equity for all people.
Source: Charity Buzz
She's a United Nations goodwill ambassador.
Source: Business Insider
And she has supported Colin Kaepernick in his activism and protesting during his time in the NFL.
Ohanian, too, supports Kap. He made a $1 million pledge to Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp using his Reddit stock gains.
Ohanian is also an outspoken advocate for digital rights and has donated money to tech training initiatives.
Source: TechCrunch
Despite their fabulous lifestyles and incredible careers, Williams and Ohanian know their family comes first.
And as the couple has felt the itch to grow their family, Williams has found it difficult to make time for her tennis career.
So, in August 2022, she announced her intention to retire after the US Open.
Serena Williams announces she is retiring from tennis, saying that as a woman, she must choose between 'tennis and a family'
Now check out the best photos of Williams throughout her incredible tennis career:
68 incredible photos of Serena Williams playing tennis throughout her career
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