Eileen Gu, an American-Born Skier Who Sold Out to China, Wins Gold for Xi Jinping

Eileen Gu, 18, was crowned the winner in the Olympics’ first-ever Big Air Freeski event after landing a double cork 1620 on Monday. In the daring event, skiers perform tricks in the air after shooting down a 60-foot-long ramp. 

Gu, who is estimated by the Beijing News to have earned $15 million in 2021, is currently the third-highest-paid female athlete in the world, trailing only tennis players Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams. She has contracts with companies like Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, and Victoria’s Secret, and works as a supermodel when she’s not on the slopes. 

The secret behind her massive wealth is that Gu switched from representing the United States to representing China in 2019 at the age of 15. That opened the gates to a market with few winter-sport athletes with whom to compete. It also gave her the opportunity to possibly receive payments from the communist government — which is known to reward athletes, especially Olympians, who succeed in representing the country.