Since Survivor premiered in the year 2000, Jeff Probst’s popular reality show has built an incredible history. As a result, new fans who don’t know about the medical evacuations or that some former players have refused to return have to figure out which seasons to watch first. Thankfully, those new fans will get the chance to watch many truly fantastic players compete during the show’s great seasons in an effort to become one of Survivor’s best winners.

New fans will also learn that several rich and famous people have played Survivor over the years, including the creator of The White Lotus, Mike White. Now that fans know Mike is returning for Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, many have been debating if someone that rich has a good chance of winning the season.

Why Some Survivor Fans Think They Couldn’t Vote For A Rich Person Like Mike White To Win The Show

Now that Survivor has been on the air for more than 25 years, it seems like fans are mostly focused on the show’s strategy. As a result, many fans seem to be more interested in which player wins the title of Sole Survivor than who gets the $1 million prize.

Despite that, there is no doubt that there is ample evidence that the prize money matters to the players who make it on the show’s jury. After all, there have been many times when the finalists have been asked what they will do with the money during the final tribal council.

With that in mind, there is a factor from outside the game that could easily affect who winds up winning Survivor. When a player clearly has a lot of money before they play, being rich could cause the jury to refuse to award them the money and the title of Sole Survivor.

While there aren’t any reliable sources that estimate how rich he is, it is widely believed that Mike White has become very wealthy. Looking at Mike’s career, it is very easy to see why.

Mike White’s Best Movies and TV Shows, According to Collider

• Enlightened
• School of Rock
• Freaks and Geeks
• Year of the Dog
• Nacho Libre
• The White Lotus
• The Good Girl
• Chuck & Buck

In 2025, Mike is best known as the mind behind the mammoth success of The White Lotus. As the show’s writer, director, and creator, everyone assumes that Mike has to be cashing in on The White Lotus becoming an absolute sensation.

Mike has also either written, directed, produced, or a combination of those things on many movies during his career. Some of Mike’s film credits include Orange County, School of Rock, Nacho Libre, Pitch Perfect 3, and Despicable Me 4. Mike has also had a successful acting career.

No matter how rich he actually is or isn’t, the fact remains that people perceive Mike as a wealthy person. With that in mind, Mike’s return for Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans has inspired fans to debate whether they would vote for a rich person to win Survivor.

In June 2025, a fan on the r/survivor subreddit posted asking the show’s other viewers a fascinating question.

In response to that question, some fans on the subreddit wrote that they would struggle to vote for a rich person to win Survivor. That fact is very revealing, since the fans on r/survivor tend to be very passionate about the show, so they are likely to care more about strategy. Still, even fans on r/survivor admit that they would struggle to reward a rich person with Survivor’s $1 million prize.

One fan responded to the post by writing that they would find it difficult to vote for a wealthy person to win.

Another fan agreed with that response in a very blunt way. “Same. If everybody was relatively well off, like making $200K a year then I would be fine giving the millionaire the money. But I couldn’t give it to a rich person over a poor person unless the poor person was a total a******.”

Yet another fan wrote in response to the subreddit post that they would specifically not want to give people like Mike more money.

“Yeah if it’s someone like Mike White or Brad Culpepper-rich vs like, Shauhin-rich, I’m not gonna want to give those guys who are set for life another million. If it’s between 3 upper middle class people then I’m not thinking too hard about the money.”

Other Fans Argued For Voting For A Rich Person To Win Survivor If They Played The Best

The top most-upvoted response to the same subreddit post argued that rich people can win Survivor. That post pointed out that during Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, the jury was never going to vote for Russell Hantz to win. That is noteworthy since the jury was willing to crown two people who’d already won $1 million each on Survivor over Russell.

“Russell Hantz thought that going to the end with two players who had previously won the $1m prize (pre-tax) would make him a lock for Sole Survivor… but the jury voted for the (pre-tax) millionaires instead! So, sure… you can definitely still win if your bank balance is blessed with some extra 0’s at the end!”

Instead of pointing to the past of Survivor, another one of the responses to the post kept things simpler. That fan argued that whoever the best player in the finals is, they should be crowned the winner.

“I think it’s easier said than done without being in that position and without knowing who exactly is sitting in front of you.”

Ultimately, one fan response to the subreddit post seemed to summarize the consensus among Survivor fans. That post argued that a player being rich is one thing for jury members to consider when deciding who to reward with $1 million.

“If I liked them way more than the other finalist(s), yes. If my opinion were closely split between two people, one rich and one who had a significant need, then I think the need for the money could be the deciding factor.”

Given how much of a fan debate there was on this topic, it will be fascinating to see if Mike’s perceived wealth affects his fate during Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans.