The winner of season 43 is the first in the history of the program to give away all of his money.
Mike Gabler’s victory over Survivor 43 shocked both the other finalists and the audience. The true surprise, though, came when Gabler declared at the reunion that he planned to donate his full million-dollar reward to organizations that aid soldiers. The expert in heart valves has now attested to having kept his word.
Gabler announced the news on Twitter/X on December 11 and said, “We did it! Survivor Season 43’s entire $1,000,000 has been donated! To get our veterans HOME, a LOT more work still has to be done. Both the USA and everyone else are blessed by God.
A picture of 25 different charities, including K9s for Warriors, No Fallen Heroes Foundation, and Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS), was posted by Gabler. He also made donations to charities that focus on reality TV, such as Born to Run Foundation, which was started by Noelle Lambert, a fellow contestant on Survivor 43, and Give Kids the World.
In a confessional, Gabler had revealed his intention to donate his riches before competing in the final Tribal Council, which he won 7-1. At the reunion program, he made the official news, shocking host Jeff Probst and the castaways.
In an interview with Parade.com on the night of the finale, Gabler shared, “I kept it quiet. I talked about it with my wife and my buddy before the show. And we were like, ‘If you get to the end, let’s do something powerful, something good.’ There’s a lot of news out there, just terrible stuff. And I’m like, ‘Let’s do something big with this money.’ Even though I was very much about it all along, I didn’t want to use veterans to benefit me. I want to benefit veterans.”
Gabler’s gesture marks the first time a Survivor winner has completely donated their winnings. While other winners, like season 33’s Adam Klein, have made significant public donations, Gabler’s full donation sets a new precedent. It remains to be seen if his generosity will inspire future Survivor winners to follow suit.
