Olympian Eileen Gu Is One of the Highest Paid Female Athletes. Where Her $23M Annual Earnings Come from

NEED TO KNOW

• Olympic skier Eileen Gu has been named one of the highest-earning female athletes in the world — but her source of income might be unexpected for some
• Gu has earned more than $23 million from her endorsements, which include Red Bull and Porsche
• She earned about $100,000 in 2025 for winning international ski events
  

Olympic skier Eileen Gu has been named one of the highest-earning female athletes in the world — but her source of income might be unexpected to some.

In a report from Forbes published in December, highlighting the world's highest-paid female athletes, Gu — who was born in San Francisco and competed for China in the 2022 Winter Olympics — was named the fourth-highest earning athlete, following tennis players Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Światek.

Gu, 22, has a long list of endorsements, including Red Bull, Porsche, IWC Schaffhausen and, most recently, TCL electronics, which have earned her roughly $23 million, Forbes reported.

These endorsements make up the majority of her income, as she's only earned about $40,000 for winning the World Cup slopestyle and halfpipe events in 2025, as well as $55,000 for the halfpipe event in Shaun White's Snow League.

Gu — who is preparing for her second-ever Olympics at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games — also derives income from modeling, according to the New York Times.

Working for the agency IMG Models, she has walked down the runway for brands including Victoria's Secret and Louis Vuitton. At age 16, she covered six different fashion magazines in China in one summer. In the U.S., she's appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.

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Josh Hershman, Global COO at London-based sports marketing agency Ten Toes, called her a "perfect storm" in athlete branding, particularly given her appeal in both the U.S. and China. She boasts more than 7 million followers on the Chinese social media platform Weibo and more than 2 million on Instagram.

"If you have an athlete with a genuine, authentic story in both markets, then you're onto a winner," Hershman told the Times.

Though she first caught the attention of Olympics and winter sports fans for her freestyle feats on the slopes, Gu previously sparked conversation during her first Olympic Games because of her choice to compete for China.

The skier and Stanford University student was born and raised in the U.S. to a Chinese mother and an American father. She first decided to compete for China ahead of the 2015 World Cup, according to CNN, and went into more detail on the "incredibly tough decision" in 2019.

"I am proud of my heritage, and equally proud of my American upbringings," Gu wrote on Instagram at the time. "The opportunity to help inspire millions of young people where my mom was born, during the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help to promote the sport I love."

"Through skiing, I hope to unite people, promote common understanding, create communication, and forge friendships between nations. If I can help to inspire one young girl to break a boundary, my wishes will have come true," she wrote, ending her post with three emojis: a heart, a U.S. flag and a Chinese flag.

In June 2025, Gu also opened up about her experience on Phoebe Gates' Burnouts podcast, sharing that she felt misunderstood and was disappointed by comments calling her un-American or un-Chinese, particularly from media figures such as Fox News' Will Cain, who said she had "betrayed America," per the Times.

"I felt really angry," she shared. "Who are you to get to go online with this big platform? At least invite me for a debate. Let me come defend myself. At least let me tell my story. It's unfair you get to bully me one-sided. I’m just not a fan of that."

During the 2022 Beijing Games, Gu won gold medals in the Big Air and Halfpipe events and a silver at the Slopestyle event.

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.

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