Eileen Gu's decision to compete for China instead of her birth country, the United States, has long sparked scrutiny over her citizenship and motivations. The freestyle skier, born in San Francisco, stated her 2019 switch was to inspire children in her mother's homeland at the Beijing 2022 Games, where she won two golds and a silver.
Gu has since become a multi-millionaire, largely from endorsements and her online presence, ranking as the fourth-highest earning female athlete in 2025. A new report from the Wall Street Journal reveals she and fellow American-born figure skater Zhu Yi were paid a combined $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025 for "striving for excellent results" qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics. In total, the two have reportedly received nearly $14 million over the past three years.
The payments came to light when the bureau's budget was posted online, listing their names, though the information was later removed. Gu, who has already won a silver in slopestyle in Milan, said, "Sometimes it feels like I'm carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders." Her citizenship status remains unclear, as China does not permit dual citizenship. Gu is set to compete in two more events: women's halfpipe and big air.