Jessica Pegula’s parents, Terry Pegula and Kim Pegula have helped in making their daughter be dubbed the “richest tennis player in the world”. Of course, Jessica is not the richest when it comes to her earnings but her parents are an American billionaire couple who are experienced and well-established entrepreneurs. Her father, Terry is worth $8.58 billion.
Jessica’s father is one of the 735 billionaires in America and also one of the over 2,600 billionaires in the world. You may want to ask how he and Jessica’s mother made their wealth. In this case, the couple is the owner of the Buffalo Bills of the NFL, are into real estate, are owners of Pegula Sports and Entertainment, Buffalo Sabres of the NLL, and have several other businesses and investments.
Shall We Explore the Life of Terry Pegula, Jessica Pegula’s Father, and How He Became Wealthy?
He Attended the Same High School as Bob Casey Jr. and Marty Flynn
Jessica’s father, Terrence “Terry” Michael Pegula was born on March 27, 1951, in Carbondale, Pennsylvania as the child of a truck-driving and coal-mining father.
This led to his attending school in the same environment. He then attended high school at a Catholic School, Scranton Preparatory School in Pennsylvania. This is the same school that several notable people such as Bob Casey Jr. (US Senator) and Marty Flynn (member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 113th District).
Others who attended the same school are Robert P. Casey, former Pennsylvania governor, NASA engineer Glynn Lunney, and NBA coach P.J. Carlesimo.
In another wrap, the other school that Jessica’s father attended is Penn State University where he obtained a degree in Petroleum and natural gas engineering.
His Professional Career That Led to His Over $8 Billion Net Worth
Jessica Pegula’s father started his career in the 1980s. He worked with Getty Oil and Felmont Oil Co. and in 1983, he founded East Resource, Inc.
The company sold most of its assets to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010 for $4.7 billion and the rest to American Energy Partners, LP in 2014 for $1.75 billion.
Regardless, it was not the end for him in the oil and gas sectors. He owns Greater Rocky Mountain Regional Oil & Gas and JKLM Energy.
Terry Pegula also expanded his business ventures with investments in sports and music. While there is a lot to be explored from all the businesses, here is a summary:
- He bought the Buffalo Bills, an NFL team in 2014 after bidding with the likes of Donald Trump and Jon Bon Jovi
- In 2017, the older Pegula and his wife acquired the Buffalo Beauts – a former National Women’s Hockey League team that is now in the Premier Hockey Federation
- In 2018, he reached an agreement to purchase the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League
- He has multiple real estate investments
See Also: Who Are Lewis Hamilton’s Parents? Meet Carmen Larbalestier And Anthony Hamilton
After Knowing About Terry, It Will Interest You to Know About Jessica’s Mother, Kim Pegula
She was Adopted From South Korea and She Conveniently
Kim S. Pegula (née Kerr) is Jessica Pegula’s mother and she was born on June 7, 1969, in Seoul, South Korea. At the age of 5, she was adopted by Ralph and Marilyn Kerr and she was then taken to America.
Her DNA shows that she is linked to Japan.
She grew up with her adopted family in Fairport, New York, and also attended Houghton College.
In any case, she moved to become a huge success as a businesswoman. Most of her business career is intertwined with those of her husband’s which we have earlier mentioned.
Moreso, she was on the NFL’s Super Bowl and major-event advisory committee.
Jessica Pegula’s Parents Had a Rather Awkward First Meeting That Eventually Led to a Marriage of Not Less Than 3 Decades
Terry and Kim Pegula met at a restaurant in Belfast New York in 1991. At the time, Kim was trying to find her footing and was only there to be interviewed as a waitress.
Terry on the other hand was already a businessman who was only at the restaurant to dine. Then, he offered her a job at his natural gas company.
The couple were married in 1993 and bore 3 children – Kelly, Matthew, and Jessica.
Prior to that, Terry was once married to a woman named
Anne Shirley before they divorced after two children, Michael and Laura.
In any case, Jessica is the most famous of the children as she has made a name for herself as an American professional tennis player. The 1994-born tennis player has career-high WTA rankings in singles of World No. 3 (October 23, 2022) and No. 2 (May 22, 2023).
At the time of this report, she is a six-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist in singles. She reached the stage three times in Australian Open (2021–2023), Once in French Open in 2022, Once in US Open (2022), French Open (2022), and Wimbledon (2023).
Moreso, she has won two singles titles and seven doubles titles on the WTA Tour among several other feats. With this, Jessica Pegula has made over $10 million net worth.
