Alysa Liu made history at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, becoming the first American woman to claim individual figure skating gold in 24 years.
The 20-year-old didn’t stop there either – she also helped Team USA secure gold in the team event, making it a brilliant double triumph in Italy.
Her stunning free skate to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park Suite” earned her a total score of 226.79, narrowly beating Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto by less than two points.
It’s been quite the journey for the young skater, whose estimated net worth now sits at around £373,290 ($500,000) according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Alysa Liu etched her name into Olympic history after securing two gold medals at last month’s Milan-Cortina Winter Games
| GETTY
With global recognition soaring and her Instagram followers jumping by roughly seven million, Liu’s financial future looks set to climb even higher.
But Liu’s path to Olympic glory wasn’t straightforward – she actually stepped away from the sport entirely back in April 2022.
During the pandemic, when rinks closed and competitions ground to a halt, she got her first proper taste of life without skating.
“Once quarantine started, I was like, ‘Wow! This is what not skating is like.’ And I loved it so much,” she told The Guardian last year.
She announced her retirement on Instagram, saying she felt “so satisfied” with what she’d achieved and wanted to spend more time with loved ones.
Alysa Liu has become a global figure following her exploits at the Winter Olympics | GETTY
When she returned to competition in 2024, everything changed. Liu now calls the shots on her own programmes and training schedule, telling 60 Minutes: “I get to pick my own program music, I get to help with the creative process of the program.”
The road to Olympic success came at a hefty price. Her father Arthur revealed to 60 Minutes that he poured between $500,000 and $1 million into his daughter’s skating career. “I spared no money, no time,” he said. “I just saw talent.”
That investment is now paying dividends. American athletes pocket $37,500 for each Olympic gold medal, meaning Liu’s double victory could net her around $75,000 in bonus payments alone.
And that’s likely just the beginning.
With the world now watching, endorsement deals are expected to come knocking. Her meteoric rise in popularity suggests her current half-million-dollar net worth could grow substantially in the months ahead.
Alysa Liu nearly gave up her Winter Olympics dream amid a terrifying Chinese spy ordeal | GETTY
Liu’s story is deeply rooted in her immigrant heritage. Her father Arthur fled China at 25 after taking part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, eventually making his way to America from a small village in Sichuan Province.
The skater has been vocal about issues close to her heart, telling KARE 11: “I definitely do care what our country is doing.
“Coming from a family of immigrants, I think immigrants deserve rights.”
Alysa Liu won two gold medals at the Winter Olympics | GETTY
As her fame has grown, so has confusion over how to say her name. She recently cleared things up with Newsweek, explaining that her surname is properly pronounced “Lee-oh” – though she’s relaxed about it.
“I personally don’t care,” she admitted.
Fans can next catch Liu at the 2026 ISU World Championships in Prague, starting 24th March.
