Definition: The covert operation of anonymously paying off the significant debts (mortgages, student loans) of friends or family using secret wealth, while simultaneously reducing your own social presence to avoid awkward questions about the source of this mysterious benevolence. It combines anonymous philanthropy with strategic social withdrawal, disappearing from group chats and lowering your profile just as financial burdens vanish for loved ones. The ghostfunder becomes a benevolent specter, lifting financial curses before fading into the background, often towards a well-appointed cabin in the woods.
Example: “My sister’s mortgage just got paid off by ‘Unknown Benefactor LLC’, and I’ve suddenly become very busy ‘traveling’ and terrible at responding to texts. Pure Ghostfunding protocol.” “After the Ghostfunding operation cleared my parents’ debts, I bought a cabin three time zones away. They think I’m just embracing hermithood, not funding it with millions I can’t explain.”