Kunal Nayyar of “Big Bang Theory” has been quietly paying medical bills for random families in need.
“Money has given me greater freedom and the greatest gift is the ability to give back, to change people’s lives,” Nayyar said in a December 2025 interview with the iPaper, which has been going viral on X.
“We also support animal charities because we love dogs,” he added of himself and his wife, Neha Kapur. “But what I really love to do is go on GoFundMe at night and just pay random families’ medical bills. That’s my masked vigilante thing! So, no, money doesn’t feel like a burden. It feels like a grace from the universe.”
Nayyar explained that his fortune does not “weigh heavy” on him, as he’s able to donate to worthy causes anonymously.
According to Fortune magazine, the actor — who played Raj Koothrappali on the beloved series during its entire 12-season run, from 2007 to 2019 — boasts a net worth of $45 million.
In the December interview, the actor explained that he believes more happiness would come from more generosity.
“Right now people are not happy, because we are all expecting someone else to be kind,” he told the outlet. “We are expecting a president or a politician, some leader, to come and bring us world peace.”
He added that there is “no world peace if your neighbor comes to your door wanting some sugar for their tea, and you lock it against them and say ‘get away.’”
He also asserted that “no one is going to come and change the world for you. You have to do it for yourself.”
The resurfaced interview caught the attention of social media users following the massive success of a fundraiser for the family of the late James Van Der Beek, which has pulled in over $2.6 million since the actor’s Feb. 11 death.
The “Dawson’s Creek” star’s wife Kimberly and their six kids found themselves “out of funds” after costly cancer treatments left them “facing an uncertain future” following his death, according to the GoFundMe page.
Though Realtor.com later reported that the “Varsity Blues” star had purchased his rented Texas estate a month prior to his death, a rep explained to Page Six that he’d done so with the help of friends.
“James secured down payment for the Texas ranch for the family with the help of friends through a trust so they could shift from rent to mortgage,” they told us.
Van Der Beek’s fundraising effort was defended by celebrities including Donna Vivino, many of whom noted the high cost of medical care in social media comments.
