Was Serena Williams Poor?

Serena Williams is one, if not, the greatest tennis players of all time, having won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, scoring sponsorships and prize money, as well as being one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. However, Serena Williams spent a good portion of her childhood in Compton, California, which might lead people to wonder if Serena Williams and her family were poor.

Serena Williams and her family were never poor, in the sense that they always had food and a roof over their head, but the family finances were stretched thin at various points of Williams’ adolescence.

Read about Serena Williams’ childhood in Compton, how her parents handled living in an economically depressed city, and how Williams manages her finances now that she’s a millionaire.

Humble Beginnings and Crime in Compton

Serena Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but spent her childhood in Compton, California. Serena, her parents, and her four siblings relocated to Southern California in 1983, landing in the area just south of downtown Los Angeles.

Compton is an economically depressed area and routinely makes the list as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States. It was incorporated in 1888 and for many decades, it was a relatively quiet suburb.

However, as the years continued and the economic and political climate changed, the area became plagued by gangs and gang violence. The Crips and the Bloods fought for territory in Compton, and it became a dangerous area with gun violence being a daily occurrence.

A Taste for Tennis

Serena’s father, Richard Williams, ran a private security firm. In his spare time, Richard loved to watch tennis matches on television, and became obsessed with turning his children into tennis pros.

Though he did not have luck with his three eldest children, his two youngest daughters, Venus and Serena, both showed a natural ability on the courts. Richard began training the girls himself on the public courts in Compton, when Venus was four and Serena was three.

Both Serena and Venus had to take cover from the gunfire in the area numerous times while training in those days. When they weren’t training, they were home-schooled by their mother, Oracene.

A Family Tragedy

Tragically, years after Serena had left Compton, her older half-sister was killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton in 2003. Though Serena herself was able to dodge the danger of the city, it still ultimately took its toll on her family.

 Serena and Venus helped to launch the Yetunde Price Resource Center in their sister’s honor. Serena Williams often posts to her social media  about the resource center and it remains one of the main charities with which she’s involved.

Warm Memories and the Making of a Millionaire

Despite the danger of the area, and the family’s tight finances, Serena Williams does not have bad memories of her childhood.

In an interview with Essence, Williams described her childhood, saying, “I never ever, ever felt broke. Looking back, I’m like, ‘Wow.’ We lived in a two-bedroom house with seven people. I don’t know how my parents were able to make me feel that way, but they did, and it was special. So I never felt when I came into money that I needed to go buy this because I never wanted anything. So it was a great way.”

Eventually the family would leave the problem-plagued Compton and head to Florida, where Serena and her sister would train with the famed tennis coach, Rick Macci. A few short years later both of the Williams sisters would turn pro, and go on to become two of the best tennis players to ever set foot on a court.

Serena would go on to become a superstar, both on and off the court. Williams is involved in multiple businesses, has her own foundation, an eponymous fashion line. In addition to that, she married Reddit co-founder and millionaire in his own right, Alexis Ohanian in 2017, with the couple’s net worth estimated to be $189 million.

You can watch the best financial tip Serena Williams received from Oprah Winfrey in the YouTube video below.

Despite her massive wealth, Serena Williams has always kept a steady head on her shoulders, having taken charge of her money since she was a teenager.

Of her finances, she has said, “Since I was a teenager, I’ve had to make every financial decision in my life. I’ve had to learn how to make good ones and how to make bad ones, to make better ones.” 

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