[dabigv13]

Story from the WSJ today about the Chinese government directly paying Eileen Gu. She's smart, pretty, well spoken, and on the payroll of the Chinese Communist Party to the tune of millions of dollars.

Not a big surprise of course, but important to recognize her millions are not just from "NIL" deals. 

From the start of her freestyle skiing career, Eileen Gu has been a runaway financial success. When the U.S.-born star opted in 2019 to compete for her mother’s home country of China, sponsors flocked to her camera-ready charisma—and for her access to one of the world’s largest markets. 

But Gu, who grew up in the Bay Area and studies at Stanford, might be even more valuable to the Chinese government than she is to backers such as Porsche and Red Bull. And in the leadup to this Olympics, it became clear just how much China was willing to pay to support her.

In 2025, the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau was set to pay Gu and another athlete a combined $6.6 million.

That figure emerged in a public budget that was released in early 2025. It accidentally included the names of Gu and figure skater Zhu Yi or Beverly Zhu, another U.S.-born Olympic athlete who competes for China. The document didn’t break down their individual payments, though it’s likely that Gu, a three-time Olympic medalist, received a larger share of the funding.

In total, Beijing’s sports bureau was set to pay Gu and Zhu nearly 100 million yuan, or $14 million over the past three years. The most recent allocation was for “striving for excellent results in qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics,” according to the budget.

Gu’s name, along with Zhu’s, was deleted from the budgets soon after they emerged, but not before they spurred surprise and criticism from the Chinese public at a time when budgets were tight for essential services. Those comments were also scrubbed from social media.

 

Should be a gift link-

https://www.wsj.com/sports/olympics/eile..._permalink

I have seen a lot of negative social media about Gu where Stanford catches some heat as well. Many see her and by extension Stanford as representative of a cosmopolitan elite rot, envisioning Stanford as a place for strivers who don't care who they step on to secure the bag.

[dabigv13]

Story from the WSJ today about the Chinese government directly paying Eileen Gu. She's smart, pretty, well spoken, and on the payroll of the Chinese Communist Party to the tune of millions of dollars.

Not a big surprise of course, but important to recognize her millions are not just from "NIL" deals. 

From the start of her freestyle skiing career, Eileen Gu has been a runaway financial success. When the U.S.-born star opted in 2019 to compete for her mother’s home country of China, sponsors flocked to her camera-ready charisma—and for her access to one of the world’s largest markets. 

But Gu, who grew up in the Bay Area and studies at Stanford, might be even more valuable to the Chinese government than she is to backers such as Porsche and Red Bull. And in the leadup to this Olympics, it became clear just how much China was willing to pay to support her.

In 2025, the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau was set to pay Gu and another athlete a combined $6.6 million.

That figure emerged in a public budget that was released in early 2025. It accidentally included the names of Gu and figure skater Zhu Yi or Beverly Zhu, another U.S.-born Olympic athlete who competes for China. The document didn’t break down their individual payments, though it’s likely that Gu, a three-time Olympic medalist, received a larger share of the funding.

In total, Beijing’s sports bureau was set to pay Gu and Zhu nearly 100 million yuan, or $14 million over the past three years. The most recent allocation was for “striving for excellent results in qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics,” according to the budget.

Gu’s name, along with Zhu’s, was deleted from the budgets soon after they emerged, but not before they spurred surprise and criticism from the Chinese public at a time when budgets were tight for essential services. Those comments were also scrubbed from social media.

 

Should be a gift link-

https://www.wsj.com/sports/olympics/eile..._permalink

I have seen a lot of negative social media about Gu where Stanford catches some heat as well. Many see her and by extension Stanford as representative of a cosmopolitan elite rot, envisioning Stanford as a place for strivers who don't care who they step on to secure the bag.