Billie Jean King named to inaugural TIME100 Philanthropy list
WTA co-founder and tennis legend Billie Jean King has used her expansive platform to lift others up for more than 50 years. This week, she was honored for a lifetime of giving back with selection to the inaugural TIME100 Philanthropy list by TIME magazine.The list is the latest expansion on the TIME100 franchise, which has selected the world's most influential people for more than two decades. In addition to the flagship list, which this year included Serena Williams, the magazine also honors influencers in AI, climate and health, which it says are "areas poised to significantly shape our future."King's selection spotlight, written by TIME writer Harry Booth, recounts how $5,000 worth of seed funding helped birth the organization that is now known as the Women's Sports Foundation back in 1973 -- a banner year for King that also included helping to establish the WTA, pushing the US Open to award equal prize money to men and women, and winning the famous "Battle of the Sexes" against Bobby Riggs."In the ensuing five decades, she’s remained dedicated to advocacy for equality in sports and to philanthropy that supports the power of sports to transform lives and foster social change," Booth writes, adding that the "initial gift reflected [the] trademark fusion of activism and savvy institution-building" that has continued to the present day.King wrote on social media that she was "so proud to be included" on the inaugural philanthropy list, which includes selections from 28 countries. TIME's senior editor Ayesha Javed curated selections from TIME reporters, editors, and contributors worldwide, and grouped honorees into the categories of titans, leaders, trailblazers and innovators. Other notable inclusions from the world of sports include David Beckham, basketball player Steph Curry and his wide Ayesha Curry, and skateboarder Tony Hawk -- with transcendent figures like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dolly Parton and Oprah Winfrey also making the cut.
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