Olympian by day, model by night: This 22-year-old is the richest athlete at the Winter Olympics

Though I can’t say I know many Winter Olympic athletes by name, if there’s one person you should get familiar with, it’s 22-year-old skiing prodigy Eileen Gu.

Starting her skiing career over a decade ago at Lake Tahoe, where her mother was also a part-time ski instructor, Eileen soon went on to win her first national championship at the age of nine. The child prodigy has continued to excel ever since, securing two golds and a silver at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

Credit: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA/Shutterstock

Born to an American father and a Chinese mother, Eileen first represented the USA before switching to China in 2019. At the time, she pointed out that: “The U.S. already has the representation. I like building my own pond.”

Here’s what we know about the icon, and why her net worth is out of this world.

Eileen Gu is just cool af

View this post on Instagram

Most Read

The truth behind wild picture of ‘Jeffrey Epstein alive in Israel’ has finally been revealed

Here are Bad Bunny’s translated Super Bowl lyrics, so you know why people are angry

Here’s why people are so freaked out about that super creepy Ring Doorbell advert

A post shared by Eileen 🖤🌈🧊🐲 (@eileengu)

Eileen Gu, 22, is a beast both on and off the snow. Though she dominates in competitions, getting a silver at this year’s freeski slopestyle, she’s just as impressive outside of skiing, with hobbies including rock climbing, horseback riding, archery, skiing, ballet, and piano.

She’s got 2.2 million followers on Instagram, where most of her feed is split between athletics, travel content, and her other money-making gig, modelling.

Eileen is represented by IMG Models Worldwide, the same agency boasting the likes of Alex Consani, Anok Yai, and Ashley Graham. Naturally, she’s been featured on the covers of Time, Vogue Hong Kong, Vogue China, InStyle, and Marie Claire.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eileen 🖤🌈🧊🐲 (@eileengu)

In 2022, she converted to Buddhism, and she actually paused her studies at Stanford University to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Impressive does not begin to describe her.

How much does Eileen Gu make? Her net worth is wild

Currently, Eileen Gu is the fourth-highest-paid female athlete in the world, behind tennis players Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, and Iga Swiatek.

According to Forbes, Eileen made a whopping $23.1 million in 2025, securing most of that ($23 million to be exact) through various endorsements with Red Bull, Porsche, IWC Schaffhausen, and TCL Electronics. She’s also worked with Tiffany and Louis Vuitton on several marketing campaigns.

All that, paired with modelling and general influencer deals, has earned Eileen Gu a reported net worth of over $20 million.

I might be older than her, but I want to be Eileen when I grow up.

For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook. 

Featured image credit: Bob Strong/UPI/Shutterstock and Eileen Gu