Growing up in a Black household, you likely heard the phrase “don’t jump on my furniture.” And as much as many people tried to adhere to the rule, for some, jumping was a natural passion and interest. That passionate sentiment could be said for Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles. With an early interest in the sport since the age of six, Biles, no doubt, took Kriss Kross’ lyrics to “Jump” literally.
The Olympic star began competing in competitions by capitalizing on her affinity for gymnastics. It earned her initial first-place prize on vault at the 2012 American Classic, landing her a spot to compete at the 2012 USA Gymnastics National Championships. Biles would be named to the U.S. Junior National Team that same year.
After mastering the aerodynamic sport, Biles would earn gold, silver, and bronze medals in the Olympics. She also has won various other world championships. While her sports career is impressive, Biles has leveraged her success as an athlete to make investments and critical business decisions.
According to a Forbes profile, Biles made $100,000 from her sports salary. However, her endorsements with brands like SK-II, Visa, Athleta, and Core Power are worth a combined $10 million. In addition to endorsements and advertisement deals, Simone Biles is the Chief Impact Officer for the online mental health company, Cerebral. These financial decisions helped round out her $16 million net worth, per Celebrity Net Worth.
Even with this financial success, people are curious about Biles’ rules for money management. In a 2019 episode of “Kneading Dough,” she revealed how she balances gymnastics with all of her money moves.
The Power Of A Team
In the interview with Maverick Carter, Biles credits her agent Janey Miller as one of the trusted voices she leans on for business decisions.
“We always talk to her [Janey] – my parents and financial advisor – about all my business decisions,” Biles said in the interview.
While she trusts the voice of Miller, Biles noted that she is very picky about who she works with. She wants to make sure the financial decisions have personal meaning. And in that regard, Biles believes that working with a financial team to help her sort it out is her best business decision.
The phrase “it takes money to make money” is true for Biles. According to the 2019 interview, her financial advisors told her that she should invest her money in ways that have positive returns. However, at the time, Biles admitted that she was still getting used to the idea and concepts of investing.
“My boyfriend always tells me, ‘Pay more attention in those meetings!’ Because I walk out of it, and he says, So how was it?’ And I say, ‘Oh, I just ask them if I’m broke or not,'” Biles explained.
While Biles was working to have more financial wisdom, she clarified that talking about investments and deals was like a foreign language to her. So, her bottom line always resulted back to, “Just tell me if I’m broke or not.” However, her team takes the time to explain things to her to keep her informed and on top of the decisions, she’s making.
Early Lessons And Current Perspectives
When Biles was 12-years-old, she received what she describes as a huge check. Her coach told her not to touch the funds because it could forfeit her eligibility for college gymnastics. Biles took this quite literally.
“My coach came over, and she said, ‘No, you’re just not allowed to cash it, but you can touch it.’ So I thought touching would forfeit everything, so I refused and jumped off the podium,” Biles said in the interview.
When she finally touched the check, she wrote her first one as a down payment for her home. That considered, she learned discipline from her literal interpretations and perspectives around money, so much so that she goes days without spending.
“And then, of course, my gas light comes on, so I have to go get gas.” But besides the necessities, as well as the occasional trip to Subway, she says, “I never really swipe the [credit] card.”
Simone Biles is currently engaged to Houston Texan’s Jonathan Owens and continues making significant moves with concepts like her NFT collection with Autograph.
