Simone Biles rose to stardom when she competed for the United States gymnastics team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
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Biles' performance won over the hearts of millions of Americans as she gracefully crushed various events en route to multiple Olympic gold medals. Now, she's competing in front of the world once again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she's expected to take home more hardware.
While Biles is the face of the U.S. national team, the 24-year-old female gymnast isn't quite as wealthy as some fans may have expected, though her fortune is sure to grow as she continues her career.
Early Life
Simone Arianne Biles was born in Columbus, Ohio. She grew up going in and out of foster care, along with her three siblings, Adria, Ashley and Tevin.
Her grandparents, Ron Biles and Nellie Biles, adopted her when she was 3, moving her out to Houston, Texas, along with Adria. Ashley and Tevin were adopted by Ron's sister. Ron and Nellie, who is from Belize, had a significant impact on Biles, who now holds Belizean citizenship.
She first tried gymnastics when she was 6 years old after impressing staff at a day-care field trip and began training at Bannon's Gymnastix. When she was 8, Biles started training with professional coach Aimee Boorman.
Gymnastics Career
👀 @Simone_Biles just casually bringing her Yurchenko double pike vault to podium training! 🐐#TokyoOlympics #SimoneBiles pic.twitter.com/V6veMIHUzW
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) July 22, 2021
RELATED: Simone Biles' Adoption Story is Inspirational: "My Parents Saved Me"
Her first junior competition was at the 2011 American Classic in Houston, Texas, when she was just 14. She won the competition in 2012 and secured a spot in the USA Gymnastics National Championship. Biles then won the U.S. Classic in Chicago and earned a spot on the U.S. Junior National Team.
Biles made her senior debut at the American Cup in 2013, where she finished second. She then competed for Team USA at the 2013 City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy. She played a crucial role in achieving a team gold medal. Later that year, judges crowned Biles the national all-around champion after placing first at the USA Gymnastics National Championships.
In 2014, the American artistic gymnast played a pivotal part in Team USA's victory at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Nanning, China. She won her second consecutive world all-around title. She became the second African-American woman to repeat as an all-around world champion.
Biles was sensational for the United States in the 2016 Rio Olympics, dominating all four events— vault, floor exercise, balance beams and uneven bars. She helped the U.S. team become gold medalists, earned individual all-around Olympic gold through her performance at the Olympic Games, and rose to superstardom. She took home four golds and one bronze medal in Rio.
Following her sensational run at the Olympics, Biles was named Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation and the 2016 AP Female Athlete of the Year. She also won it in 2019 after her performance at the World Cup. Off the mat, she's done everything from pose for magazines to star in commercials to speak out about Larry Nassar's abuse.
Throughout her prolific career in gymnastics, Biles has earned the most World Championship medals and Worlds gold medals of all time. Her 19 gold medals are the most by any female gymnast in history in World Championship history. She is also the first woman to win five World all-around titles.
Her performance in gymnastics has seen her popularity skyrocket, and the star gymnast boasts an impressive social media following with almost five million followers on Instagram.
Simone Biles Net Worth
When she isn't hanging out with her boyfriend, NFL safety Jonathan Owens, the 24-year-old gymnast works on various endorsement deals from her gymnastics career. That includes sponsorships from Nike (who she left for Athleta, which is Gap's female-focused activewear brand), Hershey's, Kellogg, Procter & Gamble, GK Elite Sportswear, Beats by Dre and Octagon.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Simone Biles has an estimated net worth of $10 million. Most of her fortune has been built through endorsements and prize money from competitions.
Interestingly, though, Biles isn't a big spender. She told CNBC in a 2018 interview she has a "fear of going broke" and will only spend money if she "earned it." Some days she challenges herself to not spend any money at all.
Fans can expect Biles to add to that net worth soon. Biles returned to the U.S. Olympic team at the 2020 Summer Olympics after qualifying for the U.S. gymnastics team. As arguably the greatest gymnast of all time, she could be in line for some more gold and plenty more green (that's money).
Simone Biles is one of the greatest Olympians of all time, and she isn't slowing down any time soon.
