Last Week Tonight: Debt Buyers | Record for largest giveaway in TV history

[TristanLuigi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxUAntt1z2c

John Oliver did a segment on debt buying corporations and their unlawful practices as well as some other immoral stuff they do, and at the end he revealed that he had started his own debt buying corporation with very little hassle, bought $15 million in medical debt for $60,000, then simply absolved the debtors of any obligation. This means that Last Week Tonight now holds the record for largest giveaway in TV history, as the previous record was held by Oprah for an $8 million car giveaway; although honestly I have no idea why HBO keeps funding these shenanigans.

Worth a watch.

[Ad Bot]

[McZealot]

i love john oliver. i recently got hbo go and being able to watch all of his content on demand is amazing

[phflack]

is that really such a large giveaway though?
that "$15 million" is only worth $60,000, due to the hassle of getting the money from those in debt, and most of them will never pay

I mean, yes it's a nice thing to do, but is it really the largest?

[Nickelob Ultra]

although honestly I have no idea why HBO keeps funding these shenanigans.

Well they can easily afford $60k and way more., but it's likely John Oliver just bought it himself.  Having your own late night show on HBO makes $60,000 look like change.  You're not swimming in gold but $60k is easily paid for with that show.

is that really such a large giveaway though?
that "$15 million" is only worth $60,000, due to the hassle of getting the money from those in debt, and most of them will never pay

I mean, yes it's a nice thing to do, but is it really the largest?

It is the largest TV giveaway.  And it is $15 million of debt owed, it's just valued at $60k because of the reasons you said.

[phflack]

It is the largest TV giveaway.  And it is $15 million of debt owed, it's just valued at $60k because of the reasons you said.

I think that's way overvaluing it though
each person's debt is not worth the full amount that they owe, so it's more like you're releasing them of that portion that they would've paid
I'd value it overall as how much would've been collected from the people, not how much they actually owe or how much their debt was sold for
that and how much the debt was sold for is probably somewhere near the expected return from the people in debt

[McZealot]

just watched it and sadly i don't think that was actually 15 million in value. it was 60 thousand, or however much could be collected of the 15 million, which probably isnt much. and if we are inflating things beyond literal value, i could give away a hand-painting i value at 500 million.

[Freek]

love john oliver

[Foxscotch]

I think that's way overvaluing it though
each person's debt is not worth the full amount that they owe, so it's more like you're releasing them of that portion that they would've paid
I'd value it overall as how much would've been collected from the people, not how much they actually owe or how much their debt was sold for
that and how much the debt was sold for is probably somewhere near the expected return from the people in debt

the idea is that the people who owed the money, totaling $15 million, no longer owe that money. whether or not they would have paid it either way, they don't even have to think about it now