Jake Paul's $500K Move May Have Saved a Life

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Jake Paul's $500K Move May Have Saved a Life originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
A quiet gesture from Jake Paul just became one of the most powerful stories in combat sports
Jake Paul has been a man on a mission inside the ring. After defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the social media star–turned–legitimate boxer continued his rise through the cruiserweight division. But it turns out, the biggest fight Paul was gearing up for wasn't in the ring—it was something far more personal. And he never said a word about it. He put names on blast, calling out companies, influencers, and even Dana White for staying silent while Ben Askren, a man he once shared the ring with, faced a life-or-death situation. Askren needed a double lung transplant—a procedure few can afford and even fewer survive without urgent help. Jake made it clear someone needed to step up. Turns out, he already had.
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Today, the curtain was pulled back thanks to a post on X from Amanda Serrano, shared from the Rugby League account, who revealed Jake Paul quietly donated $500,000 to Ben Askren and his family to help pay for the life-saving procedure.
New York , United States - 8 July 2025; Jake Paul, co-Founder of Most Valuable Promotions, during an open workout session, held at The Oculus at World Trade Center in New York, USA, ahead of the undisputed super lightweight championship fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, on July 11th at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
The post read:
'I'm telling you He's Different! Not once did he go public with this. @jakepaul isn't what most think. To know him is to love him.'
That wasn't PR. That was real. Jake never flexed this move. He didn't post a graphic, didn't hold a press conference. He just wired half a million dollars and went back to work.
Ben Askren, now on the long road to recovery, took to social media with an emotional message of his own:
'So I only died four times, where the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds. That's not ideal... I got the double lung transplant, I made it on the other side of it, gaining quite a bit of strength, learning to use everything again.'
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That line—'I only died four times'—puts the severity into perspective. This wasn't a routine operation. And Jake Paul, without making a scene, quietly offered help when it mattered.
Jake Paul, the showman, the disruptor, just pulled off the quietest and perhaps most meaningful win of his career. And as he continues his climb through the WBA cruiserweight ranks, we'll be keeping an eye on what's next—both for Paul's return to the ring and for Ben Askren's ongoing recovery.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.