Richest Athlete at Winter Olympics Has Incredible Net Worth at Just 22 Years Old
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are taking place across Milan and Cortina.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Olympics
Marcus Chan
Topics: Olympics
One athlete taking part in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games has already amassed a stunning net worth at the age of just 22.
This week, the Milan-Cortina Winter Games continued with medals being handed out across different events.
As of February 14, Norway lead the medal table with nine golds and are followed by home nation Italy, who have secured six golds.
Meanwhile, the likes of the USA, France, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland are all on four gold medals.
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Summer Olympics powerhouse China have endured a tough start to the Winter Games, having only secured two silvers and two bronzes.
One of the two silver medals was won by Eileen Gu, who is said to be the richest athlete taking part in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
The 22-year-old, born in San Francisco, California, represents China through her mother's side, and she won silver in the freestyle skiing slopestyle behind Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud.
Away from the slopes, it has been reported that Gu is the highest-paid athlete at this year's Games.
As per Forbes, Gu earned £16.9 million of her £17 million 2025 total through endorsements and engagements away from skiing.
It has been mentioned that Gu has secured deals with the likes of Red Bull, Porsche, IWC Schaffhausen, TCL electronics, and a number of Chinese-based companies.
The 22-year-old is said to be the fourth highest-paid female athlete in the world, behind tennis superstars Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
Team USA legend Lindsey Vonn is reportedly the second-highest paid female athlete at the Winter Olympics; her earnings of £6 million are less than half of what Gu managed to make last year.
In the coming days, Gu will look to add to her silver medal when she takes part in the big air and halfpipe events.
Speaking after winning freestyle silver, Gu said: "I really did overcome so much to get here. The last four years have been challenging, to say the least. I've dealt with a number of injuries. A year ago, I had the worst concussion I've ever experienced. I had seizures afterwards. There were people concerned [whether] I'm going to wake up.
"So being able to compete and really showcase my best skiing – that was my best slopestyle run that I’ve ever done, and I know that was Mathilde's best slopestyle that she has ever done as well - to participate in pushing the sport at the level that it's at, is the highest honour for me."