Ahead of taking the court at the US Open, Serena Williams took the stage at an ultra-elite meeting of billionaires and business bigwigs at the 1640 Society Family Office Wealth Forum, also known as “the Davos of the Hamptons” — to talk about her VC Fund.
The tennis legend — who has 23 Grand Slam singles titles and just won her first US Open match this week — recently announced in Vogue that she will retire after this year’s tournament to focus on both her family and business, Serena Ventures, which she started back in 2014.
In March, she announced she’d raised $111 million that she’ll invest with founders who have diverse points of view.
We’re told Williams spoke to conference attendees about her portfolio of over 50 companies, including early investments in unicorns like MasterClass and Noom, impressing seasoned investors, moguls and machers in attendance such as Apax Partners’ Alan Patricof, short-lived White House spokesman Anthony Scaramucci, Tim Draper, Kent Swig, former Marvel CEO Peter Cuneo, philanthropist Nancy Davis and Canyon Partners’ Joshua Friedman.
The annual conference is invite-only and has included powerful family names like Kennedy, Bush, Ford, Rockefeller, Getty, Johnson, Heinz, and even Musk. The website states: “The Forum brings together prominent families & philanthropists who summer in the Hamptons, the greater New York community, as well as international families from Mid East, Europe and Asia who seek a private and exclusive venue to network, exchange new information & ideas and hear from leaders in the field.”
We’re told along with the speakers, this year’s event had a number of chances to rub elbows. Impact Wealth Magazine’s editor-in-chief Hillary Latos and publishers Adam Weiss and Angela Gorman hosted a lunch at Libbie Mugrabi’s Water Mill mansion.
Guests also mingled at Michael Loeb’s massive beachfront Meadow Lane mansion. The home was featured in the show “Billions.”
Following the conference, VIPs enjoyed a candle-lit beachfront dinner at the home of Louise Blouin, who formerly ran an art media empire that included “Art + Auction” and “Modern Painter,” called La Dune.
The $63 million home was involved in bankruptcy court in May and recently appeared on a list of the area’s top water guzzlers.
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