'Survivor' Winner Mike Gabler Donates Full Million-Dollar Prize to Charity

Mike Gabler

One year ago, Mike Gabler shocked his fellow finalists and fans alike when he won Survivor 43. But he surprised everyone in the reunion when he revealed what he intended to do with his new million-dollar cashflow: Donate it entirely to charities that supported veterans in need. And now, the heart valve specialist has confirmed he did just that.

"We did it! The entire $1,000,000 from Survivor Season 43 has been donated!" Gabler posted on Twitter/X on December 11. "There is still much more work to do to bring our veterans ALL THE WAY back home. God bless everyone and God bless the USA." He proceeded to post a picture of 25 different charities, including Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS), No Fallen Heroes Foundation, and K9s for Warriors. 

Related: Everything to Know About Survivor 45

He also donated to a few reality TV-specific charities, including Give Kids the World (a nonprofit resort for critically ill children and their families that does many events with reality TV alums) and the Born to Run Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to child amputees founded by fellow Survivor 43 contestant Noelle Lambert.

Gabler revealed his intentions to donate his winnings in a confessional shortly before he entered the final Tribal Council that would ultimately give him the win in a 7-1 vote. He then announced it at the follow-up reunion show, shocking Jeff Probst and the castaways alike.

"I kept it quiet," he told Parade.com the night of the finale's airing. "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 is the first Survivor winner across 44 finished seasons of the show to completely donate their winnings. Other notable victors like season 33's Adam Klein have been sizable public donations to charities, in an effort to use their new cash flow to make a positive impact in the world. We shall see if Gabler has paved the way for even more acts of charity for future Survivor winners and seasons to come.

Next, find out everything about the wedding between Survivor two-time player Zeke Smith and Superstore star Nico Santos.