Savannah Louie, the winner of the 49th season of Survivor, is opening up about her prize money.
In a new interview on the Financial Tea with Mrs. Dow Jones podcast, Savannah revealed that she had to give a major chunk of the money to the government due to taxes being taken out of the winnings.
Savannah took home the $1 million prize as the winner of the season, but then had to pay $380,000 in taxes.
“It was like a punch to the gut, because that’s more money than I have ever made in a year, by far,” she said. “To sign a check over, essentially, for that high, it was unreal. It hurts.”
Savannah lucked out that she’s a resident of Georgia, because the amount she had to pay in taxes was actually less than what other people in the country would have to pay.
The prize money hit Savannah’s bank account after the finale aired, which was nearly six months after she filmed the season. CBS waits to give the money to make sure the winner doesn’t break their NDA.
“We have to wait until the finale airs, though, before we get that payout,” she said. “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.”
Savannah added, “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.So, they have that check at the end of the day that’s kind of looming.”
Host Jeff Probst has explained why he’ll never host another reality show.
Posted To:Savannah Louie Survivor Television