A Burger King employee who has worked for the fast-food chain for 27 years and shared the meager anniversary gift he received online has now bought his first house with the more than $400K raised from the viral video clip.
Kevin Ford shared the news on social media after closing on his new Pahrump, Nevada, home on Dec. 13 for $177,000. “I wanted to show you something, something you made possible, you did for me, just a hardworking guy,” Ford said in a video posted to Instagram on Dec. 29.
“Now I know it needs some work, gonna cut off the haters already, I know it’s not a mansion, but it’s mine.”
Last year, Ford posted a video celebrating his 27th anniversary with the fast-food franchise without missing a single day of work.
In the video, Ford is shown holding a small bag with gifts from his employer, including a movie ticket, candy, pens, keychains and a Starbucks cup. Many online thought the gifts seemed cheap and commented that they believed he deserved much more than that from Burger King.
As ESSENCE previously reported, in response to the comments, Ford’s daughter Seryna created a GoFundMe Page to raise money for her dad’s retirement.
The GoFundMe campaign raised nearly 500,000, and Ford told TMZ that he walked away with about $350,000 from the crowdsourcing fund after it took its fees.
He used about half of that to buy a place in Pahrump, Nevada, for $177,000. He also is giving some of the donations to his daughter.
Ford’s new 850-square-foot home has “three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a covered front deck, fenced-in yard and views of the surrounding mountains.”
“I want to thank everyone from all around the world for what you’ve done for me. Something that I never thought would be possible for me, home ownership.”