Jeopardy Champs
The all-time biggest Jeopardy! winners should definitely call a financial advisor, since some of their accumulated winnings are truly staggering. These are the show’s winningest contestants whose brains allowed them to earn big.
Jeopardy Champs
Alex Jacob
It seems that making wagers comes easily to Alex Jacob, since he’s a professional poker player. He earned $151,802 in his 5 game streak, which made him eligible for the 2015 Tournament of Champions. After winning the tournament, Jacob brought home another $250,000!
Alex Jacob
Bob Blake
Bob Blake won a total of $82,501 over the five games he appeared in. In later appearances in tournament games, Blake took home another $115,000. He decided to give back and donated a significant amount of his winnings to New York’s Missionaries of Charity. When asked if he had purchased anything extravagant with his winnings, he replied: “I am a Canadian and an actuary. What do you think?”
Bob Blake
Gilbert Collins
After failing to make it into the Teen Tournament, Gilbert Collins made it to regular ol’ Jeopardy! and managed to win big. His 5 game streak earned him $84,201 back in early 2018. This avid traveler has visited over 50 countries throughout his life and can also speak five languages: English, Spanish, Mandarin, French, and German. Quite an impressive guy!
Gilbert Collins
Bob Verini
After initially not passing the audition for the show, Bob Verini successfully made it onto the show in his second attempt. He accumulated $276,802 during his successful run on the show. Aside from his vast trivia knowledge, Verini spends most his time as a playwright and actor and he revealed that he spent a big portion of his winnings on backing theater productions.
Bob Verini
Alan Lin
Software engineer Alan Lin spent five whole years trying to make it onto Jeopardy! His hard work and persistence finally paid off, and his six day streak earned him $123,600. He later came back to compete in the Tournament of Champions where he earned an additional $100,000!
Alan Lin
Rachael Schwartz
Rachael Schwartz accumulated $147,499 total between her regular Jeopardy! appearances as well as her tournament wins. When asked about her high level of knowledge she credited reading: Even as a kid I used to read all the time. Including at the dinner table.” When she was asked about what she did with her winnings, the sensible Schwartz shared: “I invested most of my money in mutual funds. The most extravagant thing that I did was to buy myself a $300 briefcase back in 1994. I still have it.”
Rachael Schwartz
Tom Cubbage
Tom Cubbage is, to date, the only contestant to have won both the College Championship and Tournament of Champions competitions. He initially won $26,600 during the College Championship and later $100,000 after winning the Tournament of Champions, winning both of these games in 1989!
Tom Cubbage
Rachel Lindgren
Rachel Lindgren won a total of five games in a row, which effectively won her $75,999 in winnings. She is definitely one to watch for future championship tournaments. Lindgren shared that ever since her appearance on the show, “My Facebook has been blowing up. I have been offered everything from marriage proposals to flight lessons. It’s fun to be recognized, for now.”
Rachel Lindgren
Stephanie Jass
Stephanie Jass accumulated $166,000 over seven games of Jeopardy! in 2012. She later made headlines again, but this time for less than positive reasons. In December 2017, it was revealed that Jass hacked into Adrian College (her place of employment) email database. After pleading guilty, she was put on probation.
Stephanie Jass
Lisa Schlitt
Lisa Schlitt collected a hefty $139,100 over the course of 6 games in 2017. The microbiologist later made another appearance, while competing in the Tournament of Champions, in which she earned $15,400. Of the experience, she’s said: “The expectation kind of weighs on you…up against such formidable people. Everyone there has essentially proven themselves to be the best of the best, at least in the past couple years.” No pressure!
Lisa Schlitt
Jerry Frankel
Way back in the very first season of Jeopardy! Jerry Frankel made history by becoming a five day champion, winning $32,650, as well as becoming the very first winner of the Tournament of Champions! This feat won him an additional $100,000. However, he tragically passed away just two years after his Jeopardy! success.
Jerry Frankel
Bob Harris
Bob Harris initially won $58,000 on the show and later added $200,000 to his total winnings while appearing on the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Masters tournament in 2002. It seems he really has a knack for game shows, as he also appeared on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, winning $250,000 while on that show!
Bob Harris
Dan Pawson
Poker player Dan Pawson’s impressive winnings totaled up to $421,902 over the span of a 9 game streak in 2009. Pawson was able to pay off his student loan payments and had money to spare to devote to raising his child with his wife. He also managed to donate a portion of his winnings to charity!
Dan Pawson
Austin Rogers
Over the course of 13 games in a row, Austin Rogers won an impressive $413,000. However, he’s best remembered for having a “Kramer” (of Seinfeld) type of quirky personality. Alex Trebek noted that he was “The expectation kind of weighs on you…up against such formidable people. Everyone there has essentially proven themselves to be the best of the best, at least in the past couple years.”
Austin Rogers
Jerome Vered
Jerome Vered managed to accumulate an impressive $496,602 throughouts his time on Jeopardy! He eventually even played in the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions against Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, the reining kings of the game. Despite his wild success on the game show, you might be surprised to hear that it took Vered four times to actually make it onto the show!
Jerome Vered
Frank Spangenberg
In 1990, Frank Spangenberg made Jeopardy! history when he became the first person to accumulate over $100,000 in under one week on the show. His 5-day streak earned him a totaly of $102,597 although he was only abel to keep $75,000 due to a winning’s cap at the time. The rest went to a charity of his choosing, a hospice organization.
Frank Spangenberg
Eric Newhouse
Eric Newhouse first appeared in the 1989 Jeopardy! Teen Tournament. He later competed in the same year’s Tournament of Champions and also made it onto Super Jeopardy! His winnings came to a total of $193,100. Interestingly, he also managed to win several strange items such as a case of red wine vinegar, and a signed copy of Treasure Island. While on the show, he earned the nickname “Powerhouse.”
Eric Newhouse
Lara Logan
South African journalist Lara Logan, who works on 60 Minutes, competed on a special episode of Jeopardy! that many viewers will not forget. She appeared alongside CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper, and her final winnings of $50,000 was graciously donated to her charity of choice, Committee to Protect Journalists.
Lara Logan
Pam Mueller
Pam Mueller competed on the College Championship game series, representing her school, Loyola University. Her winnings came to a total of $182,201 and she even won a car, a 2001 Volvo S60! She later went on to earn a PhD from Princeton University and a law degree from Harvard Law! Pam is seriously one impressive woman.
Pam Mueller
Chuck Forrest
In 1985, Chuck Forrest won five Jeopardy! games in a row, bringing his total winnings to $72,800 for those games. He later won an additional $100,000 in the tournament he participated in. His game strategy was nicknamed the “Forrest Bounce,” and included bouncing around from one category to another at random, therefore throwing off his opponents. He said: “The basic point is, you know where you’re going next and [your competitors] don’t.”
Chuck Forrest
James Holzhauer
James Holzhauer is the most recent of the hall of fame Jeopardy! winners. He managed to win an incredible $2,464,216 over the course of 32 games, which means he’s the third winningest player in Jeopardy! history. He was nicknamed “Jeopardy James” during his time on the show. People were so invested in his run on the show that his final game was actually leaked to the public early!
James Holzhauer
What’s James Doing Now?
James Holzhauer will certainly be remembered as one of the Jeopardy! greats for years to come. After his successful run brought immensely high ratings to the show in its 35 seasons, people wondered what he would do with all the money he won. He has already donated $10,000 to a Las Vegas organization dedicated to helping displaced teens.
James Holzhauer And Alex Trebek
Russ Schumacher
Russ Schumacher’s 4 game streak may be short, but don’t count him out! Over the course of those four games, he managed to accrue an impressive $345,800! Before appearing on the show, he said if he won he’d buy his girlfriend an engagement ring with his winnings. He late said: “Little did I know that Jeopardy! would not only pay for the ring, but also a wonderful wedding and a down payment on a house with plenty to spare.” How sweet!
Russ Schumacher
Arthur Phillips
Arthur Phillips boasts a total of $63,003 in winnings after 5 games, but this is the least of his impressive talents! Phillips spend his childhood as a child actor and later also became a speechwriter as well as a jazz musician. He can really do it all! He’s even an award winning novelist. Let’s all take him as an example of how to really excel at life.
Arthur Phillips
Eddie Timanus
Eddie Timanus made Jeopardy! history by becoming the show’s first blind contestant. He won $69,700 and also two cars during his time as a contestant. In preparation of the games ahead, the show’s producers provided him with a Braille card with the categories on them before every round. He also appeared on a Jeopardy! tournament and won an additional $5000. What an incredible man!
Eddie Timanus
Austin “Buzzy” Cohen
Music executive Austin “Buzzy” Cohen spent 9 games in a row as a contestant on the show, bringing his total winnings to $164,603. He was a fan favorite due to his witty and entertaining banter with Alex Trebek. He even made a hilarious reference to a famous Will Ferrell SNL Jeopardy! parody sketch by saying, “What is, see you tomorrow, Trebek?” He revealed he planned to invest the money he won as a college fund for his kid.
Austin Buzzy Cohen
Richard Cordray
Richard Cordray accrued $453,030 throughout his 5-game streak. He spent his winnings on paying off his law school debt, taxes, and buying a brand new car. How sensible! He returned to participate in the Battle of the Decades tournament, but politely turned down his $5000 winnings. He said this was due to the fact that he was a federal employee.
Richard Cordray
Michael George Dupée
Michael George Dupée won an impressive total of $203,901 in his appearances on the show, which included winning the 1996 Tournament of Champions, making him the 4th biggest winner of the time. After his impressive wins, he later went on to release a book entitled How to Get on Jeopardy! and Win! It seems that he definitely is an expert on this matter!
Michael George Dupée
Watson
This Jeopardy! champion is a bit different from the rest on this list, as Watson is not even human! The IBM robot competed against the top Jeopardy! contestants in a battle of machine versus human. Watson initially won $77,147 in two special exhibition games, and later beat the top champions, winning the grand prize of $1 million. Luckily, IBM donated the prize to the World Vision and World Community Grid non-profit organizations.
Watson
Colby Burnett
Illinois high school teacher Colby Burnett appeared in many Jeopardy! games including the Tournament of Champions, in which he won $250,000, the Teachers Tournament, which earned in $100,000, and finally the Battle of the Decades, which won him $25,000. He revealed that with his winnings he bought a new house for his mother. What a great son!
Colby Burnett
Mark Lowenthal
Mark Lowenthal managed to win $159,901 in the 1988 Tournament and an additional $10,000 in the Battle of the Decades tournament. In addition to being a Jeopardy! champion, Lowenthal has also written five books, including a college textbook on the topic of national security and intelligence. He has also co-authored a book with fellow Jeopardy! champ Chuck Forrest, Secrets of the Jeopardy! Champions. He has also written 90 articles!
Mark Lowenthal
Nancy Zerg
Although Nancy Zerg’s one-game winnings of $15,401 may seen meager in comparison with the rest of the Jeopardy! champions on this list, she does have one serious accomplishment to boast about for the rest of her life: she beat Ken Jennings, the most successful Jeopardy! contestant of all time! After this incredible feat, she said it was incredibly difficult to stay quiet for three months until her episode aired. We bet it was worth the wait!
Nancy Zerg
Seth Wilson
Then-PhD candidate Seth Wilson played over the course of 12 Jeopardy! games and won a total of $256,002. When asked what he’d do with his winnings, he shared he would pay off his student debt and take a trip abroad to Europe. He also shared that one of his favorite memories of his time on the show was: “The first category on my first day was ‘George Clooney Movies’, and I ran that category, so I got to run a category my first taping of Jeopardy!”
Seth Wilson
Ben Ingram
Ben Ingram, who boasts a degree in biology as well as time spent as an IT consultant, was quite the contestant while on Jeopardy! His 8 day total winnings came to a very respectable $177,534. However, he also managed to take it all in the form of $250,000 after winning the tournament he participated in.
Ben Ingram
Tom Walsh
Tom Walsh managed to win a total of $184,900 while a contestant on Jeopardy! in 2004. He went on to compete in a tournament, in which he won another $236,900. Walsh later shared: “My winnings are allowing me to support work that helps people in the developing world, such as education for refugees from Burma, and microcredit for people affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. It’s amazing that Jeopardy! could end up being a blessing to people on the far side of the world, but it is!”
Tom Walsh
Joon Pahk
Joon Pahk was already an impressive guy before he even set foot on the Jeopardy! podium. At only 32 years old, he was already working as a physics professor at none other than Harvard University. Nevertheless, he continued being an impressive individual by appearing on the game show for eight games in a row. On his experience, he shared: “You can’t tell anyone the results so it’s a little difficult.” We can only imagine how challenging it must be to stay mum until your episodes air!
Joon Pahk
Jason Keller
Jason Keller secured $213,900 over the course of nine games in a row. A New Jersey native, Keller has been an avid fan of Jeopardy! since he was a young boy. He’s shared: “This is something that I’ve wanted for a really long time, and I’ve usually been an optimist…I always felt that it would happen eventually.”
Jason Keller
Larissa Kelly
Larissa Kelly had an impressive seven game run which earned her a total of $223,587. Interestingly, she is not the only member of her family to have appeared on the show. In fact, both her husband and her sister have also been contestants on the show. Kelly earned a PhD in 19th century Mexican archaeological history and is also a science fiction writer. She’s seriously impressive!
Larissa Kelly
Tom Nissley
Tom Nissley appeared in eight games in a row and was able to rack up $235,405 in prize money. He holds a PhD in English Literature and has edited books for Amazon. With his winnings, he purchased a book store in Seattle named Phinney Books that he is currently running.
Tom Nissley
Dave Madden
Dave Madden made Jeopardy! history by setting a record of playing in 19 games in a row, which brought him the title of second longest streak at the time, earning $403,400 total. Madden is an art historian and a trivia buff in general. He’s founded and serves as executive director of the International History Bee and Bowl as well as the National Science Bee, and the International Geography Bee.
Dave Madden
Dana Venator
Dana Venator may not be at the top of the list of highest earners, but she is certainly a fan favorite. She competed on the very first Teen Tournament in 1987. Even Alex Trebek greatly enjoyed her presence on the show due to her quirky personality and funny anecdotes. She shared that she’s played the bagpipes in the woods once and also purchased bathrooms from the hotel she was staying at during her time on the show!
Dana Venator
Arthur Chu
Arthur Chu won an impressive $37,000 in his first of 11 games total on Jeopardy! His total winnings came to $298,200. He later appeared in the Tournament of Champions and finished in second place, earning him an additional $100,000. He is currently a writer for Salon and The Daily Beast and writes on topics such as sexism in nerd culture as well as racism.
Arthur Chu
Julia Collins
Julia Collins impressed Jeopardy! fans by setting the record of the second most games won in a row after she made it to a 20-game winning streak. She earned $429,100 total over the course of the 21 games she played. She also became the highest earning female Jeopardy! contestant during her time on the show.
Julia Collins
Matt Jackson
Matt Jackson appeared on Jeopardy! when he was only 23 years old and working as a paralegal in Washington D.C. The endearingly awkward Jackson won a total of $511,612 and became a fan favorite who was known for his catchphrases while finding the Daily Double clues. One of these catchphrases that he coined was “Boom!” after answering the Daily Double clues correctly.
Matt Jackson
Roger Craig
Roger Craig, a computer scientist and biochemist, competed on Jeopardy! in 2010 and amassed $503,200 in total winnings. He held the record for highest single-day winnings from 2010 until James Holzhauer broke his record in 2019. He also participated in the Tournament of Champions in 2011, taking first place and returned in 2014 for the Battle of the Decades.
Roger Craig
Brad Rutter
Brad Rutter certainly needed to hire a solid financial advisor after his time on Jeopardy! seeing as his total winnings came to a whopping $4,385,702! He holds the record for the highest winnings not only on Jeopardy! but also in the history of American game shows as well! Rutter has never lost a game of Jeopardy! to another human, but he was beaten by Watson, the IBM computer in an exhibition match.
Brad Rutter
Cindy Stowell
Cindy Stowell’s story is truly incredible. After she qualified for Jeopardy!, she received the devastating news that she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The show’s producers therefore rushed filming so she could compete in time. While she was a contestant, she already had stage 4 cancer but still managed to win $105,803 and fulfill her dream of being on the show. She sadly passed away in December 2016 after donating all of her winnings to charity.
Cindy Stowell
Ken Jennings
Ken Jennings will forever be remembered as one of the greatest Jeopardy! players in the history of the game. He played a total of 75 games, winning a record 74 games in a row! The author and computer scientist has since written about his Jeopardy! experience as well as American trivia culture and history in general. He has made numerous appearances in Jeopardy! championship games since his historic run.
Ken Jennings
