When a “Survivor” castaway wins the game at the end of each season, they earn bragging rights, a place in the show’s history and, of course, the grand $1 million prize (or $2 million in some cases).
Granted, due to taxes, they don’t get to take the full amount home with them. In fact, they tend to lose more money than you might imagine before the final payday settles in their bank account.
‘It Was Like a Punch to the Gut’
“There’s no immunity idol for tax season,” E! News pointed out back in May while mentioning that this “was certainly the reality for Survivor season 49 winner Savannah Louie after she claimed the title of ‘Sole Survivor’ and the $1 million prize that came along with it.”
Louie admitted that she lost around $380,000 of her “Survivor” winnings to taxes.
“It was like a punch to the gut,” She said during a chat on the “Financial Tea with Mrs. Dow Jones” podcast, adding, “because that’s more money than I have ever made in a year, by far.”
While Louie noted that the fact that she lives in Georgia means that she didn’t have to pay as much in tax as those in some other states, she stated, “To sign a check over, essentially, for that high, it was unreal. It hurts.”
Savannah Revealed How Long It Took to Get Her ‘Survivor’ Money
Louie not only had to hand over a chunk of her winnings because of taxes, but she also had to wait quite a while to get the money.
“We have to wait until the finale airs, though, before we get that payout,” she said during her podcast appearance. “Our finale aired in December, so I was waiting a long time, very patiently. But literally less than 24 hours after the finale aired, I see that that $1 million straight deposited it into my bank.”
The reality TV alum also explained why the show doesn’t give winners their money as soon as they finish competing, saying, “With Survivor, there are NDAs in place [because] I know who the winner is, our cast knows who the winner is, but production doesn’t want that to get out.”
Someone who appeared on “Survivor” suddenly having a large amount of money would definitely hint at the possibility that they won their season.
Of course, the winner isn’t the only one to walk away with money. Louie mentioned that that “Survivor” is “one of the better paying shows,” and generally offers the first contestant that is eliminated around $2,500, and that increases the longer you stay in the game. Louie explained, saying that “[i]t goes up substantially … once you get to what they call the jury phase,” and “[t]he top 10 people or so, they start making a decent amount of money.”
Beyond that, Louie says, “At least for most seasons, the runner up, they get $100,000. They’re still walking away with a pretty nice paycheck. I think third place makes about 85 [thousand].”
How Much of the $1 Million ‘Survivor’ Prize Do Winners Take Home After Taxes?