Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Miranda Kerr Erase $550M of Medical Debt for 261,000 Californians

Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel and his wife, the Australian model Miranda Kerr, have funded the erasure of more than $550 million (£417 million) in medical debt for over 261,000 people across California. The nonprofit Undue Medical Debt announced the gift on Thursday, 25 June.

The couple did not disclose how much they gave. The charity does not need a sum that matches the debt it clears, because it buys overdue bills in bulk from hospitals, physicians' groups, and collection agencies for a fraction of their face value. Undue Medical Debt says every $10 (£8) it spends wipes out about $1,000 (£760) owed.

The charity said the donation marks the first time it has run a statewide erasure in California, having previously paid off bills only at a local level. The couple announced the partnership in a video and reassured recipients that any letter saying their debt has been forgiven is genuine.

Where the Medical Debt Relief Lands Across California

The relief is concentrated in the state's largest and hardest-pressed counties, according to figures released by the charity. San Diego County sees the biggest share, with roughly $99 million (£75 million) cleared for about 40,369 residents. In Los Angeles County, the gift wipes out $26.7 million (£20.2 million) for 17,466 people. Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Monterey, San Francisco, Sonoma, and Alameda counties complete the top 10.

Recipients cannot apply for the relief. Undue Medical Debt acquires qualifying debt in bulk and cancels it, then notifies people by post, with letters expected from the middle of July. To qualify, a household generally earns at or below four times the federal poverty level, around $100,000 (£76,000) a year for a family of four, or carries medical debt worth 5 per cent or more of its annual income.

Why Medical Debt Fuels So Many US Bankruptcies

Undue Medical Debt says one in four American adults carry medical debt and that it is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States. In the charity's own polling, medical bills now outrank the wider economy as a household worry, and it says people burdened by them are three times more likely to experience depression and anxiety.

Brooklyn, a single mother from Woodland who received relief in an earlier round, was left with an ambulance charge of more than $4,600 (£3,490) after a car accident in 2018. 'When I opened the letter from Undue Medical Debt, I cried,' she said in a statement. She added that the relief mattered not only for the money erased but because it told her someone believed she deserved a second chance.

A Familiar Move for Spiegel and Kerr

Spiegel built his fortune on Snapchat, the messaging app he co-founded as a Stanford University student in 2011. Forbes recently put his net worth at about $2.1 billion (£1.59 billion). He and Kerr have funded debt relief before. In 2022, the couple paid off the student loans of the graduating class at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported. Spiegel, who grew up in Pacific Palisades and lost his childhood home in the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, pledged $5 million (£3.8 million) in immediate aid that month.

In a statement on the latest gift, Spiegel and Kerr said a sick or recovering family should be able to focus 'on healing and caring for the people you love' rather than bills that linger for years. Allison Sesso, who leads Undue Medical Debt, called the gift 'astonishing' and said no one should go bankrupt over a cancer diagnosis or be forced to choose between insulin and groceries.

The charity says it has retired more than $40 billion in medical debt across all 50 states since 2014.