From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

Aras's story is totally new for me and quite surprising. ___________________________________________________________________

These rCySurvivorrCO contestants won a million dollars. HererCOs how they spent it.

By
Sandra Gonzalez

Being a rCLSurvivorrCY 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 showrCOs 50th season concludes on Wednesday, one person will walk away with $2 million rCo 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 rCLhow not to succeed in business.rCY 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.

rCLBy the time yourCOve opened the aperture wide enough to really start to enjoy the riches, thererCOs nothing left,rCY he said. rCLItrCOs a fascinating experience at that age.rCY

But herCOs 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.

rCLThererCOs some idea that having a million dollars improves your life,rCY Baskauskas said. It doesnrCOt. rCLIt just changes it. And whatever problems yourCOre gonna find yourself in, yourCOll find them with or without that money.rCY

HererCOs more of what winners told CNN when asked how they spent their
prize money.

After Zohn won rCLSurvivor: AfricarCY 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.

rCLI was all in and donated the funds to help co-found the organization,rCY Zohn said. rCLOf 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.rCY

rCLSurvivorrCY changed his life for many reasons, rCLand it wasnrCOt just about
the money,rCY he said.

rCLIt 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.rCY

Danni Boatwright (Season 11)

rCLI 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
couldnrCOt justify spending that much money. And that was my motivation
for my final immunity challenge, rCyGosh, if I win this, I could go get
Hondo a new hip.rCO 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.rCY

Earl Cole (Season 14)

Another benevolent winner, Cole took some of his winnings and started
the Perthes Kids Foundation, which helps children with
Legg-Calv|--Perthes Disease, a degenerative hip bone disorder. He also
started the SMART Tire Company that in 2023 was featured in TIMErCOs Best Inventions for its airless bicycle wheel.

He also gave money to family, traveled to over 60 countries and
rCLinvested wisely,rCY he said via email.

rCLI 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 didnrCOt 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!rCY

Todd Herzog (Season 15)

rCLI traveled the world and started a toy making business!rCY

Parvati Shallow (Season 16)

rCLI opened a high-end boutique wellness center in Santa Monica. We had trampoline classes, boxing, Pilates and massage.rCY

Bob Crowley (Season 17)

CrowleyrCOs rCLSurvivorrCY winnings went to two things, he said, rCLneither 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.rCY

First, there was the honeymoon. Immediately after his win, a reporter
asked him about his plans for his prize, and, in his words, rCLI
panicked.rCY He blurted out rCLthe one thing that made me sound like a
decent human beingrCY: He was taking his wife Peggy on a honeymoon 28
years in the making. The answer, he joked, was rCLbasically the cheat code
for good press.rCY 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.

rCLPeggy 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,rCY Crowley wrote. rCLItrCOs great for anyone with an adventurous spirit, and a love for being in nature. Life is good!rCY

Kim Spradlin (Season 24)

rCLRight after rCySurvivor,rCO 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.rCY

Denise Stapley (Season 25)

Stapley said she used her winnings much like how she played the game rCo rCLcautiously, pragmatically, and definitely not flashy.rCY She invested nearly 100% of it for retirement and her daughterrCOs college education.

rCLWe continued to live in the same house and I continued to drive the
same Honda Civic for another 10 years,rCY she said. rCLEssentially, 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.rCY

John Cochran (Season 26)

rCLSoon after winning, I went through a short-lived rCyyo-yorCO phase where I spent an inordinate amount of money on a limited-edition yo-yo. I lost
it within a week rCo a valuable cautionary tale that inspired me to be
wiser with my winnings.rCY

Tyson Apostol (Season 27)

rCLTest drove a Porsche, bought a Subaru and gambled a lot! Still have the Subaru.rCY

Michele Fitzgerald (Season 32)

rCLI 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.rCY

Nick Wilson (Season 37)

One thing the rCLSurvivorrCY winners can be sure their money will go towards is taxes. And thatrCOs 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.

Erika Casupanan (Season 41)

rCLI used my prize money to freeze my eggs.rCY

Maryanne Oketch (Season 42)

Oketch said she was rCLa bit pragmaticrCY 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.

Mike Gabler (Season 43)

Gabler and his wife decided prior to the show that if he won, herCOd
donate the entire one-million-dollar prize to veterans. And thatrCOs
exactly what he did.

rCLWhile I never had the honor of serving, it was my honor to serve those
who served us. IrCOm grateful to have been able to play on my favorite
show and humbled by the win,rCY Gabler said.

Gabler donated his winnings to 25 organizations that help veterans and
first responders. rCLTo be able to pay it forward was extra special. A
life of service is a life well lived,rCY Gabler said.

Yamil rCLYam YamrCY Arocho (Season 44)

The first treat Arocho bought himself was a king-size bed. rCLI didnrCOt
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!rCY Arocho said.

Kenzie Petty (Season 46)

rCLI 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 rCyburbs and invested the rest to be able to retire someday.rCY

Rachel LaMont (Season 47)

LaMont paid off all her student loans, contributed to her niecesrCO and nephewsrCO 529 education savings plans, quit her corporate job, co-founded
a puzzle gaming company and traveled with her husband Derek.

Kyle Fraser (Season 48)

rCLMy 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!rCY

Savannah Louie (Season 49)

Louie put most of her prize money into investments and a rCLgood chunkrCY
into her travel fund. rCLMy boyfriend and I went on a luxe trip to
Thailand, and we have a few other adventures coming up!rCY Louie said. She also bought a couch for their new place and a Cartier watch, which she
said was a dream purchase. rCLMy watch feels like my own personal trophy I
get to have on me at all times,rCY she wrote.

Michael Besozzi, Julie In, Lizzie Jury and Lindsey Knight from CNNrCOs Editorial Research team contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/20/entertainment/survivor-50-how-winners-spend-money
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Brian
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