And in an open letter written for Porter Magazine's Incredible Women of 2016 issue and published in The Guardian, Williams took aim at the gender pay gap both in tennis and society at large.
"Too often women are not supported enough or are discouraged from choosing their path," she wrote.
She went on to say that she embraces what others views as "disadvantages," including her race and gender, and turns them into "fuel for my success."
When the subject of equal pay comes up, it frustrates me because I know firsthand that I, like you, have done the same work and made the same sacrifices as our male counterparts. I would never want my daughter to be paid less than my son for the same work. Nor would you.
As far as earnings go, Williams isn't the only celebrity to squirrel cash away. To this day, comedian Jay Leno hasn't touched a dime of his "The Tonight Show" money.
"When I was younger, I would always save the money I made working at the car dealership and I would spend the money I made as a comedian," Leno told CNBC. "When I started to get a bit famous, the money I was making as a comedian was way more than the money I was making at the car dealership, so I would bank that and spend the car dealership money."
Even after he was earning up to $30 million a year as the host of the late night program, Leno continued to pursue comedy gigs on the side so he'd never have to rely on his primary income.
Leno's strategy gives him peace of mind. "So many people get to be the age I'm at now and they've got nothing because they just blew it all," he said. "It sounds ridiculous, but if everything ends tomorrow, I know I'll be fine."
This is an updated version of a
previously published article
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