Betsy King

Betsy King is an American former professional golfer and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, widely regarded as one of the most successful players in LPGA Tour history with 34 tour victories, including six major championships. No reliable, independently verified public net worth figure exists for King, but her career LPGA prize-money earnings are a matter of public record: she was the first player to pass $5 million in career earnings on the LPGA Tour.

Early Life & Family

Betsy King was born on August 13, 1955, in Reading, Pennsylvania. She played college golf at Furman University, where she was part of the school’s 1976 national championship-winning team, before turning professional and joining the LPGA Tour in 1977.

Rise to Fame

King’s path to stardom was not immediate. After turning professional in 1977, she went winless on the LPGA Tour for seven years before finally recording her first tour victory in 1984. That breakthrough set off an extraordinary run: over an 11-year span from 1984 to 1995, King won 30 times on the LPGA Tour, including five major championships, establishing herself as one of the dominant players of her era.

Career History

King won six major championships over her career: the Chevron Championship (then known as the Nabisco Dinah Shore) in 1987, 1990 and 1997; the U.S. Women’s Open in 1989 and 1990; and the LPGA Championship in 1992, where she became the first golfer to shoot four rounds in the 60s at an LPGA major. In total she won 34 LPGA Tour events. She was the LPGA Tour’s leading money winner and Player of the Year in 1984, 1989 and 1993, and in 1989 became the first player to surpass $500,000 in a single season’s earnings. King was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming its 14th member.

How They Built Their Wealth

King’s wealth came from more than three decades on the LPGA Tour, where she accumulated career prize money in excess of $6.5 million, becoming the first player in tour history to cross the $5 million mark. She also earned income through golf instruction, sponsorships, and other opportunities tied to her standing as one of the sport’s biggest stars during the 1980s and 1990s.

Personal Life

King has spoken openly about her Christian faith as a defining influence on her life. Following a 2006 trip to Africa with the humanitarian group World Vision, where she saw firsthand the impact of poverty and HIV/AIDS on women and children, King co-founded the charity Golf Fore Africa in 2007 with her friend Debbie Quesada. Over nearly two decades, the organization has funded the construction of more than 200 wells for clean drinking water, primarily in Zambia, and raised tens of millions of dollars for humanitarian relief.

A World Golf Hall of Fame member with six major titles and 34 tour wins, Betsy King remains one of the most decorated players in LPGA history, and in retirement has become equally known for her humanitarian work in Africa.