I am a professor of finance so when I watched Serena Williams’ recent Wimbledon win I took great pleasure in watching the athlete and the investor. She is certainly one of the greatest professional tennis players ever. I, along with many others, think that she will leave the game as the greatest tennis player ever. But there’s more than tennis to admire about Serena Williams and her sister, Venus. They are as smart and able off the court as on.
They recently purchased part ownership in the Miami Dolphins football franchise and are now the first African American women to become professional sports franchise owners. Together, Venus and Serena have earned almost $100 million dollars playing professional tennis but their combined net worth exceeds $200 million dollars! That is the result of smart investing – excellent play on the court and excellent investing off the court. As Nina Simone famously sang, “When you’re young, gifted and black, that’s where it’s at.”
I am also a serious auto racing fan and one of my favorite drivers is Lewis Hamilton, the defending Formula One world driving champion, and another example of a young, gifted and black athlete. This year, he is headed for his third overall and second consecutive championship. He is the first and only black Formula One driver and, the sport’s first black champion. This year, Hamilton signed a three year extension with his current team, Mercedes, for over $40 million a year with bonuses if he wins another championship. Hamilton negotiated the contract himself and, as a result of his tremendous success on the track and his excellent business acumen, he has become one of the five most marketable athletes in the world and, according to Forbes magazine, is the 15th highest paid athlete in the world . He is also building a $15 million resort hotel on the Caribbean island of Granada. Lewis is showing he is world class on and off the track.
If you rely on media coverage of the men and women who play professional sports you often hear about the athletes who squander their money and rarely hear about minority athletes who are successfully earning and investing their wealth now and for the future. This is news everyone should know about – in a world that celebrates the culture of consumption – the Williams sisters and Lewis Hamilton are examples of what happens when athletes are skilled in their sport and their finances.
Forbes Link: http://www.forbes.com/profile/lewis-hamilton/