At 22, Olympic skier Eileen Gu is worth over $20 million. She’s juggling brand deals and sports with school. And she urges Gen Z not to wait until they’re ‘older’ to start

(Credit: Qian Jun—MB Media/Getty Images)

At age 22, Eileen Gu is one of the best freestyle skiers in the world—amassing four Olympic medals to her name. She’s also a student at Stanford University studying international relations, currently on leave for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Games.

But instead of waiting to earn a degree to get her career off the ground, she’s dived in headfirst. Gu pulled in $23.1 million last year alone, according to Forbes, making her the fourth-highest-paid woman in sports, ahead of stars like Naomi Osaka and Caitlin Clark.