My family is worth $4bn and I’ve been dubbed world’s richest tennis star.. but I would trade it all to win Wimbledon
JESSICA PEGULA admitted she would trade in her family’s billions to collect her very own Wimbledon winner’s cheque.
The American No1 is ranked fourth in the world and has already made £7.1million in her tennis career.
But being the daughter of Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula means she is the heir to an incredible $4billion fortune.
Now the 29-year-old No4 seed is determined to shake off the “world’s richest tennis player” nickname – and replace it with simply being known as the Wimbledon champion.
Pegula said: “People say that. I personally don’t have that money. It’s probably my dad’s or my parents’. My family obviously is pretty well-known back in America.
“It doesn’t really bother me. It would be nice if people didn’t say that. But do I really care? I mean, not really.
“But I don’t really think it matters how much money you have.”
A smiling Pegula then added: “It would be great to win Wimbledon because then I would also have a lot of money from winning Wimbledon.
“I think I would trade, yes. I think that would probably be better.”
The Wimbledon singles champion receive a whopping £2.35m – and would propel Pegula into the discussion among the best female players on the planet with the so-called ‘Big Three’ of Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina – a party she admits she would “definitely love to crash”.
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But that All England Club prize money would not be enough to buy just a FIFTH of her dad’s stunning superyacht which cost him a cool £12.5m.
Terry Pegula made his fortune from natural gas development.
He first worked as a petroleum engineer for Getty Oil, before setting up his own company called East Resources in 1983 with a $6,000 loan from his family, drilling for oil and then selling off the business in two parts for a combined $5.2bn.
The Pegulas set up their sports and entertainment group – with wife Kim installed as CEO and president – and in 2014 beat off rival bids from Donald Trump and Bon Jovi to buy NFL giants Buffalo Bills for $1.2bn.
However, Pegula Jr – who also launched her skincare brand Ready24 – has been keen to embrace her family’s influence, while still creating her own success.
And now she is playing tennis with the extra motivation of making her mum proud.
Kim Pegula suffered a cardiac arrest in June 2022 and is continuing her recovery at home.
Her daughter wrote in an emotional Players’ Tribune essay in February some details of her mum’s “significant expressive aphasia and memory issues” and added “where she ends up is still unknown”.
Asked if she is playing for her mother, Jessica – who is married to husband Taylor – added: “My mum sacrificed a lot, especially when I was younger. She was always very supportive, she was always trying to brainstorm with me ideas of how to get better.
“To me, she wouldn’t want me to be doing anything else. I think she would want me to keep winning and to keep competing.
“Now it’s nice when I get to go home and see her. But at the same time, she wants to watch me on TV. I think that inspires her in her recovery, as well, to see me out there still playing.
“She just wasn’t the type for people to take care of her. She’s super independent.
“Basically she doesn’t want me around her! She’s just like, ‘Go do your thing, why are you here? Good luck in your tournaments.’”
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