Eileen Gu isn’t just an extremely talented freestyle skier; she can also lay claim to being the richest athlete at this year’s Winter Olympics.
Born in the USA, but now representing China, Gu took home two golds and a silver at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. At this year’s Games, currently being contested in Italy, she’s already won a silver in the freeski slopestyle event, and is a favorite to defend her titles in the freeski big air and freeski halfpipe events.
Needless to say, she is among the cream of the crop where her chosen sport is concerned. But what fans might not be aware of is that she’s actually the highest-paid athlete at the Games as well.
Gu’s history in skiing stretches back to her youth. The 22-year-old was born September 3, 2003 in San Francisco to a first-generation Chinese mother and an American father, and took up skiing at an early age.
Reports claim Gu began skiing aged just three, having been enrolled in freestyle skiing by her mother, who deemed racing to be too dangerous.
By age nine, she had become the junior group champion for the USA Snowboard and Freeski Association. And she didn’t just excel in sport, but also academically, earning herself an early entry to Stanford University in 2020.
Gu represented USA before switching to China in 2019.
“The US already has the representation. I like building my own pond,” she said.
And build it she most certainly has.
According to Forbes, Gu, at just 22 years old, has raked in a fortune of around $23 million from various endorsements and other engagements.
This makes her the fourth-highest-paid female athlete in all of sport (only tennis stars Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have earned more) while she’s far and away the richest athlete at the 2026 Winter Games.
To put it into perspective, Lindsey Vonn is the athlete with the next highest net worth. Hers stands at $8.2 million, less than half of Gu’s.
Reportedly, the majority of Gu’s money comes from ventures outside of skiing. She has deals with giant brands including Red Bull and Porsche, as well as a host of Chinese companies.
She’s also been endorsed by the likes of Tiffany and Louis Vuitton and has appeared on the cover of the Chinese versions of Vogue and Marie Claire.
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