Summary
- From charity foundations to sustainable businesses, past Survivor winners reveal how their million-dollar prizes changed their lives in unexpected ways.
- As the show’s 50th season concludes with a doubled prize pot, former champions share stories of financial missteps, practical investments and generous donations.
- One winner went into debt after starting a hat business while another donated his entire prize to veterans organizations.
AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.
Being a “Survivor” winner means joining a strange club of hyper-ambitious humans, bound by both the surreal experience of reality television fame and knowing what it feels like to suddenly come into a good chunk of cash.
When the show’s 50th season concludes on Wednesday, one person will walk away with $2 million — a surprise doubled pot courtesy of Internet sensation and superfan Mr. Beast.
Before this year, the $1 million prize money may not have technically kept up with inflation, but an informal poll of winners shows whether you won in early seasons or later ones, the real value of victory sometimes does not come from the money at all.
Take, for instance, Season 12 winner Aras Baskauskas, who spent 39 days starving and sleep-deprived off the coast of Panama to earn his million at the age of 24 and used it to start a hat business, through which he learned “how not to succeed in business.” Five years after he won, he was $50,000 in debt.
The married father, who with his wife owns successful sustainable clothing company Christy Dawn, likes to say he spent his prize money on a very expensive, non-traditional education.
“By the time you’ve opened the aperture wide enough to really start to enjoy the riches, there’s nothing left,” he said. “It’s a fascinating experience at that age.”
But he’s zen about it now and tries to share that feeling with other winners and castoffs alike, recently doing so in a text exchange with Season 50 contestant and five-time player Ozzy Lusth, whose heart-led game play resulted in his torch getting snuffed in a recent episode.
“There’s some idea that having a million dollars improves your life,” Baskauskas said. It doesn’t. “It just changes it. And whatever problems you’re gonna find yourself in, you’ll find them with or without that money.”
Here’s more of what winners told CNN when asked how they spent their prize money.
After Zohn won “Survivor: Africa” in 2001, he was approached by two former teammates from Zimbabwean football club Highlanders FC about starting a charity that later became Grassroot Soccer, which for the last two decades has helped educate teens worldwide on issues like HIV prevention and mental health through the sport.
“I was all in and donated the funds to help co-found the organization,” Zohn said. “Of course I splurged a little bit! I bought both my brothers a car, took my mom on vacation and bought myself a pair of those Bose noise reduction headphones.”
“Survivor” changed his life for many reasons, “and it wasn’t just about the money,” he said.
“It gave me lifelong friends, introduced me to a community I love being a part of and it gave me the opportunity to jumpstart something I was truly passionate about, Grassroot Soccer.”
“I had one big splurge and that was I spent 10 grand on getting my dog Hondo a new hip. He had hip dysplasia, and I knew he needed it but couldn’t justify spending that much money. And that was my motivation for my final immunity challenge, ‘Gosh, if I win this, I could go get Hondo a new hip.’ So as soon as I won, I took him down to Kansas State University, they gave him a new hip and he lived 14 wonderful years. Best money spent.”
Another benevolent winner, Cole took some of his winnings and started the Perthes Kids Foundation, which helps children with Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease, a degenerative hip bone disorder. He also started the SMART Tire Company that in 2023 was featured in TIME’s Best Inventions for its airless bicycle wheel.
He also gave money to family, traveled to over 60 countries and “invested wisely,” he said via email.
“I guess one weird and crazy thing I bought was ONE shot of Macallan 56 at the top of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai on my birthday soon after my win (look up the price!)! I always say I didn’t buy it for the taste, I bought it for the story! That story, and everything that happened that day, has definitely paid for itself tenfold!”
“I traveled the world and started a toy making business!”
“I opened a high-end boutique wellness center in Santa Monica. We had trampoline classes, boxing, Pilates and massage.”
Crowley’s “Survivor” winnings went to two things, he said, “neither of which involved yachts, sports cars, or a private island, much to the disappointment of anyone who thinks reality TV money turns you into Scrooge McDuck.”
First, there was the honeymoon. Immediately after his win, a reporter asked him about his plans for his prize, and, in his words, “I panicked.” He blurted out “the one thing that made me sound like a decent human being”: He was taking his wife Peggy on a honeymoon 28 years in the making. The answer, he joked, was “basically the cheat code for good press.” They ended up going to Australia and New Zealand.
He also built Maine Forest Yurts, a campground just west of L.L. Bean in Durham, Maine.
“Peggy and I have a love for being outdoors and we wanted to share it with others, so we thought a yurt campground would be perfect,” Crowley wrote. “It’s great for anyone with an adventurous spirit, and a love for being in nature. Life is good!”
“Right after ‘Survivor,’ my husband Bryan and I bought our first fixer-upper and used the prize money to renovate it. That house ended up being the thing that really jumpstarted my career in design and home renovation.”
Stapley said she used her winnings much like how she played the game — “cautiously, pragmatically, and definitely not flashy.” She invested nearly 100% of it for retirement and her daughter’s college education.
“We continued to live in the same house and I continued to drive the same Honda Civic for another 10 years,” she said. “Essentially, the win just granted us a freedom of a bit more time and flexibility. We are who we are. And wanted to remain grounded in that.”
“Soon after winning, I went through a short-lived ‘yo-yo’ phase where I spent an inordinate amount of money on a limited-edition yo-yo. I lost it within a week – a valuable cautionary tale that inspired me to be wiser with my winnings.”
“Test drove a Porsche, bought a Subaru and gambled a lot! Still have the Subaru.”
“I was young and had no idea what to do with the money. I bought a laptop, interviewed like 10 financial advisors, and invested the whole thing.”
One thing the “Survivor” winners can be sure their money will go towards is taxes. And that’s the case for Wilson, who told CNN that after he paid about $400,000 in taxes from his winnings he bought a small house, a truck and an engagement ring.
“I used my prize money to freeze my eggs.”
Oketch said she was “a bit pragmatic” with her money, from what was left of it after taxes. Among the things she did was: tithed 10% to her church, paid for her parents 30th anniversary trip to the Bahamas, flew to Australia in a business class seat and paid for her wedding and honeymoon. The rest she put in savings and investments.
Gabler and his wife decided prior to the show that if he won, he’d donate the entire one-million-dollar prize to veterans. And that’s exactly what he did.
“While I never had the honor of serving, it was my honor to serve those who served us. I’m grateful to have been able to play on my favorite show and humbled by the win,” Gabler said.
Gabler donated his winnings to 25 organizations that help veterans and first responders. “To be able to pay it forward was extra special. A life of service is a life well lived,” Gabler said.
The first treat Arocho bought himself was a king-size bed. “I didn’t need a bed. I loved my bed. But my husband wanted a king-size bed. So, we went and got the best one. After sleeping on the ground for a month, I think it was a treat that made sense!” Arocho said.
“I used it exactly how I said I would, actually! I paid the taxes, started my family by having two sweet little boys that are my entire world, bought a house in the ‘burbs and invested the rest to be able to retire someday.”
LaMont paid off all her student loans, contributed to her nieces’ and nephews’ 529 education savings plans, quit her corporate job, co-founded a puzzle gaming company and traveled with her husband Derek.
“My wife is a massive Taylor Swift fan, and we got married roughly a month and a half after Survivor 48 wrapped up filming. So as a surprise wedding gift, I bought her tickets to the second-to-last Eras Tour concert in Toronto!”
Louie put most of her prize money into investments and a “good chunk” into her travel fund. “My boyfriend and I went on a luxe trip to Thailand, and we have a few other adventures coming up!” Louie said. She also bought a couch for their new place and a Cartier watch, which she said was a dream purchase. “My watch feels like my own personal trophy I get to have on me at all times,” she wrote.
