How Survivor Winners Have Spent, Saved or Wasted Their $1 Million Prize

1/47 Monty Brinton/CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images Richard Hatch Survivor's first-ever winner has almost become one of its most infamous, as the corporate trainer was a polarizing figure thanks to his arrogance, ruthless gameplay and fondness for walking around camp nude during the inaugural season in 2000.After he was the first to outwit, outplay and outlast, Richard became a TV personality and radio host, and eventually returned for another shot at $1 million in Survivor All-Stars. (He also was on Celebrity Apprentice and The Biggest Loser). In 2005, he was accused of tax evasion for failing to pay the taxes on his $1 million prize and the appearance fees he received following his win. While he claimed CBS had told him they would foot the bill, he was convicted and sentenced to 51 months in prison in 2006. After he was released in May 2009, he was ordered back to jail for tax violation after he didn't refile his taxes for 2000 and 2001. 2/47 Gregg DeGuire/WireImage Tina Wesson After winning the second season, set in the Australian Outback, life went pretty much back to normal for Tina."My life hasn't really changed," the then-nurse and motivational speaker told the TV Guide Network, though she did reveal she built her dream cabin in North Carolina, and in 2006, she published a book, Out Live, Out Laugh, Out Love. She also became a spokeswoman for the National Arthritis Foundation and an advocate of adoption. She returned for two more seasons, getting voted off first during All-Stars and competing with her daughter during Blood vs. Water. She also competed on The Amazing Race. "Survivor to me was just another experience, but it was an experience that allowed me to go do a lot of other fun things that I would have never got to do," she said in 2018. "My life is basically what you see...I live here in the woods. I bike, swim, kayak, motorcycle, anything I want to do, just take your pick. And then I play, and travel." 3/47 Theo Wargo/WireImage Vecepia Towery The season four Sole Survivor basically went right back to her normal life after her 39 days in Marquesas."Survivor changed my life very little," she said during the TV Guide Network Survivor Winners special. "I say that because my husband I both chose to not allow it to change our lives. I still shop at Walmart." Still, Vecepia managed to land her own local TV show and traveled as a motivational speaker. As she noted, "It's been a really, really good ride." 4/47 Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Ethan Zohn The former professional soccer player was a fan-favorite during season three, ultimately going on to win over the jury, too. He returned in All-Stars, but didn't have as much luck in his second appearance.After returning from his win in 2002, Ethan co-founded Grassroot Soccer, combining his love of soccer with charity work, helping raise money and awareness to fight HIV/AIDs in Africa. In 2009, Ethan was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and battled a second bout two years later. After receiving a stem cell transplant from his brother, Ethan became cancer-free. After his 10-year relationship with fellow Survivor winner Jenna Morasca (more on her in a second!) ended, Ethan found love with interior designer Lisa Heywood. When the couple announced their engagement, Ethan said, "This is the reason I survived cancer twice... to meet Lisa and start a beautiful and healthy new life together." The couple married in 2016, with his rep telling E! News, "It was a beautiful celebration of true love and life." 5/47 Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images Brian Heidik The soft-core porn stud turned used-car salesman (No. 1 in the U.S. at the time of his season BTW!) is one of the franchise's most polarizing and controversial figures—on and especially off the island.After winning Survivor: Thailand, Brian was arrested in 2006 on misdemeanor battery and animal cruelty charges after his then-wife Charmaine Costigan called the police claiming he had shot a puppy with a bow and arrow. This came after Charmaine was arrested for spousal abuse after allegedly smacking him in the nose in 2002 just ahead of his season's finale airing. "I don't think he's ever adapted to real life since then," Charmaine told the Journal-Constitution of the impact Brian's time on the show had on him following his arrest. "He thinks he can do anything. He thinks he's invincible." They divorced later that year, with Brian going on to marry Courtney Heidik. Brian, one of the least likable winners ever, spent a large portion of his money on sports cars, according to the TV Guide Network special in 2009. 6/47 Stephen Chernin/Getty Images Jenna Morasca The swimsuit model and college student was just 21 when she was crowned the sole Survivor of season six, which included her infamous decision to get naked for some peanut butter. (Relatable, tbh!) She is still the youngest female player to ever win the game.Aside from the check for $1 million, Jenna also received another prize during her finale: A new partner in season three winner Ethan, with the winning duo going on to date for 10 years before splitting in 2013. After taking time off from school (though she eventually returned and graduated with a degree in psychology), Jenna went on to host some shows for TV Guide Network and appeared in several movies. She and Ethan also competed on The Amazing Race and starred on their own show, Everyday Health. Jenna was invited back to All-Stars but ended up quitting the show to be with her mother who was battling cancer. Her mom ended up passing away eight days after she returned home. In early 2018, Jenna was arrested for a DUI and drug possession after allegedly biting a police officer while being treated for an apparent overdose. According to the Pennsylvania police report, the SUV she was driving possessed a vanity license plate that reads "AMAZON," likely a reference to her season, Survivor: Amazon. After the incident, Jenna broke her silence on Twitter, writing to her followers, "Been a long time. I'm back and better than ever. Jenna 4.0 version." 7/47 Robert Voets/CBS via Getty Images Sandra Diaz-Twine The player so nice she won twice! The former army specialist and mom of two is the only castaway to ever win two seasons, netting $2 million in the process. (She returned for a third time, but didn't win Game Changers, voted out pre-merge by her fellow competitors.)Despite her double-win record (winning season seven [Pearl Islands] and season 20 [Heroes. vs. Villains]), Sandra's life didn't change all that much. "Everything else is the same," she said during the 2009 TV Guide Network Survivor winner special. "I still stop in stores like Walmart, K-Mart, I clip coupons and I go to the matinee." Sandra still lives with her husband in North Carolina, and one of her daughters recently graduated from college. 8/47 Chris Polk/FilmMagic Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano Talk about the ultimate reality TV power couple.Boston Rob became one of Survivor's most notorious players of all time, thanks to his four appearances on the show, finally winning the $1 million during Redemption Island (Season 22). But he'd already sort of won, falling in love with fellow Survivor (originally from The Australian Outback) and tribemate Amber during All-Stars. In the finale, Amber bested her boyfriend to take home the $1 million prize...just after he got down on one knee and proposed during the live reunion. (Who cares if some people booed and they received a lot of harsh criticism from their jury?!) Rob and Amber competed on The Amazing Race as an engaged couple, coming in second place, before competing during the All-Stars season two years later. They got married in 2005, snagging their own short-lived reality series Rob and Amber: Against the Odds in 2007. The couple has welcomed four daughters. After his fourth and final season resulted in a win, with Probst calling it "as close to a perfect game as anyone's played on Survivor," Boston Rob, who also snagged $100,000 after winning the viewers' vote as well, told EW he was retiring from the show. "I accomplished everything I've ever wanted to accomplish. This time around it wasn't about the money as much as it was about the title. I don't have to hide in my own house anymore. And plus, Amber's getting a check anyway." 9/47 Mark Mainz/Getty Images Chris Daugherty Some people buy houses; the season 9 winner decided to build one instead.He did admit to one splurge, telling TV Guide Network, "As soon as I won the game, I did go out and buy me a Harley. It is something I've probably wanted since I was 16 or 17. I was never financially secure enough to do so, so that was my first purchase." Aside from that, he returned to his pre-Survivor job, looking forward to eventual retirement and post-retirement travel. "Everyone said my life would change, but life returned to normal," the Ohio native told People. "I work as a project inspector for the Department of Transportation. I have the same friends, live in the same town and am really happy with where I am." 10/47 Bill Inoshita/CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images Tom Westman The firefighter from Long Island was crowned the winner of season 10 after playing one of the most solid games in Survivor history, managing to win a record number of individual immunity idols (five) while remaining pretty damn likable; he's even one of Probst's picks for his favorite winners of all-time. Tom, who went on to become a motivational speaker, returned as a hero during Heroes vs. Villains, but was ultimately voted out fifth.After his $1 million win, Tom retired from the fire department and went into the insurance business in New York City, selling life and disability insurance. "Everything that has come my way afterwards has just been a blessing," he said during a 2009 TV Guide Network special. 11/47 Monty Brinton/CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images Danni Boatwright A stealthy player, Danni flew under the radar to win Survivor's 11th season.The former Miss Kentucky USA and model went on to marry former NFL player Casey Wiegmann, and the couple has two baseball-playing sons, Bo and Stone. The family still resides in Kansas City, with Danni saying, "I'm a country girl so I had to be close to the sticks. I literally travel every weekend for competitive baseball." Danni also started her own clothing line, Sideline Chic, worked as a sport reporter and more recently became a children's book author. "Winning a million dollars is wonderful, of course, but I still live a very normal life," she told People. 12/47 Bennett Raglin/WireImage Aras Baskauaskas After the yogi won Survivor: Panama, he saw the money as an opportunity to pursue his ultimate passion: music. "It's given me a freedom certainly, where I get to explore what I love," he said on the TV Guide Network special back in 2009. (He also revealed he bought cars for his father and brother, as well as started a Russian hat company.)Thanks to his time on the show, he was able to form a friendship with singer-songwriter Damien Rice, who became a mentor to him. Aras went on to release music under the name Odd Us. But he later admitted to struggling with his newfound fame from the show. (He returned to compete once again in Blood vs. Water alongside his older brother.) "We all have our personal barriers. After I won Survivor, I got really depressed. It was just too much," he told Irvine News in 2012. "Too much exposure to the elements, to myself, to the world. I couldn't vibrate that high for that long." He eventually opened up a yoga studio in Cape Town, South Africa, and in 2015, he married model Christy Petersen. They have two children. 13/47 Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images Yul Kwon After winning one of the series' most controversial seasons ever, Cook Islands, which began with the castaways separated into tribes by race, Yul has gone down as one of Survivor's most beloved (and nicest) contestants of all-time."I feel really lucky. I think since Survivor I've had a lot of opportunities to do things I've really wanted to do," he said during the 2009 TV Guide Network special. "I've worked with a lot of cancer organizations, leukemia organizations and bone marrow organizations to try and increase the number of people who become registered bone marrow donors." Yul also started a nonprofit that helped victims of domestic abuse. Following his turn on Survivor, Yul became a TV host and a lecturer for the FBI, while also opening up several Red Mango frozen yogurt shops in San Francisco after discovering the company when he was looking for a healthy dessert option once he returned from the game (and gained 25 pounds). Oh, and he also found a lot more than hidden idols during his time on the show: "I also met my future wife, Sophie, through my tribemate, Brad Virata," he told EW. They've gone on to welcome two children. For more updates for Part 2, follow Daily News. Come back here often for Survivor spoilers, news and updates.