WATCH: John Oliver Rises To God-Status – Pays Off $20M Of Debt In The Largest Ever TV Giveaway
John Oliver has outdone all TV giveaways, giving away $20 Million ($US14,922,261.76) to pay off unpaid medical bills for US citizens.
While Oprah might be known for giving away cool stuff like cars and holidays to her guests, Oliver’s generous gesture takes the cake for the biggest TV giveaway of all time – according to him at least.
The pay-off came as the host investigated the shady practices of the debt-collecting industry. Highlighting how the mostly unregulated practice works, he started up his own company and was offered just $US60,000 to buy up $US15 million worth of medical debts from Texas alone.
In the video (watch below) he said,
“It is pretty clear by now (that) debt buying is a grimy business, and badly needs more oversight, because as it stands any idiot can get into it,”
“And I can prove that to you, because I’m an idiot, and we started a debt-buying company. And it was disturbingly easy.”