An Idaho man just won $1 million on ‘Survivor.’ He plans to give it away, ‘save lives’

MERIDIAN (Idaho Statesman) — A Meridian resident took home the $1 million prize on Wednesday’s season-ending episode of “Survivor.”

But he won’t keep the money, he said.

Mike Gabler, a native Texan who now calls the Boise area home, was the Sole Survivor on the 43rd iteration of the long-running CBS series.

Gabler will donate his winnings to charity, he told host Jeff Probst — to the Veterans in Need Foundation.

“There are people that need that money more,” Gabler said. “And I’m going to donate the entire prize, the entire million dollars — in my father’s name, Robert Gabler, who’s a Green Beret — to Veterans In Need, who are troubling from psychiatric problems, PTSD, and to curb the suicide epidemic. We’re going to save lives, do something good.”

Gabler told Entertainment Weekly that he made the decision to give away the money to Veterans in Need before the game.

“I was talking with a buddy of mine who’s a veteran and my wife. And we were talking about, ‘What if you win this thing?’ You know, I’ve worked really hard (all) my life. I’ve built a good financial setup around myself. I’ve got to work another eight years before I can retire. I’ve still got a kid in college, one more to go. I’ve still got a house payment, all that stuff the money would have helped, sure. But my father’s a veteran. My uncles are veterans. A lot of guys I went to high school and college with are veterans. And they need some help.”

Gabler, 52, is a heart valve specialist, according to an interview he did with Parade. He’s also an avid Idaho outdoorsman, as illustrated by his Instagram page.

Gabler was this season’s oldest contestant and the second-oldest ever to win “Survivor.”