Winning thousands– or millions– of bucks on a game program can change your life. A few of the biggest game program victors have actually used their funds to quit their tasks, take a trip the world, treat their family and friends, or buy new autos. Others have actually saved or invested their windfalls.
However contestants are likewise commonly in charge of paying taxes on whatever they win. That can suggest a high tax obligation expense that champions usually aren’t planned for. In spite of the prospective drawbacks, it can still pay off to win big. Read on to see what these 23 video game show candidates finished with their significant prize money.
Melody Akhtari: Won $68,000 on ‘Wheel of Fortune’
Melody Akhtari, a Los Angeles-based director of marketing in her 30s, won $68,000 worth of cash and also rewards on “Wheel of Lot of money” in 2014. The profits consisted of a journey to Hawaii and also about $40,000 in cash after taxes.
What she made with the cash prize: “I enabled myself two indulgences,” claimed Akhtari. “Initially, I treated my family to supper instantly after the episode taping. I was involved at the time as well as relatively early in my career, so it was my very first time taking 6 people out to supper at a nice dining establishment– and also I was really feeling extremely happy to treat them! The other indulgence was tickets for me and also my fiancé to see the most popular cinema play at the time, ‘Schedule of Mormon.’ After that, I let the $40K sit in a savings account.”
Akhtari got married after winning on the show, as well as she and her fiancé stuck to the initial budget they had established for their wedding event and honeymoon.
” After about a year or two, we lastly cleaned off the cash and utilized it in the direction of a deposit on the home we reside in today,” she said. “I’m glad I didn’t blow it on a sports car.”
Brad Rutter: Won $4.69 Million on ‘Jeopardy!’
Brad Rutter appeared on “Jeopardy!” numerous times in between 2000 and also 2003, and also won an overall of $4.69 million. He is the largest all-time champion on the quiz show.
What he finished with the cash prize: Rutter is an aspiring actor, so he was able to use his jackpots to seek his desires without needing to use up shifts at a restaurant or bar.
” It’s really wonderful not to have to do that,” he told AOL in 2010.
His one splurge was a Porsche– which he completed– and he gave the remainder of his money to his papa, a financial consultant, to spend.
” We joke that I am the only 32-year-old with an 82-year-old’s portfolio,” he told AOL at the time.
Aurora: Won $21,008 on ‘The Price Is Right’
Aurora of Aurora’s Blog site won a brand-new auto, 2 video cameras and $96 in cash on “The Cost Is Right” in 2013. The cash value of her prizes amounted to $21,008.
What she finished with the cash prize: Even though Aurora “won” an auto, she was the one in charge of paying the taxes on it. Aurora estimated that between sales tax– which alone was $2,067– as well as federal as well as state tax obligations, she would certainly need to pay nearly $9,000 just to keep the prize vehicle.
” Tax obligations are really real,” she wrote on her blog site. “Tax obligations definitely prohibit lots of people from keeping prizes they win (or going on trips they win).”.
Aurora chose to sell the car as well as made “thousands of bucks” on the sale, she created. She intended to sell off the cameras she had won as well, but couldn’t discover any buyers.
” I just contributed them to charity, hoping that at the very least that write-off will assist with my huge tax costs,” Aurora created on her blog. “If I would certainly’ve recognized a lot more about the video cameras, I probably would’ve simply forfeited them so they’re not taken into account in my prize total amount when it involves taxes.”.
As for the $96 in cash, Aurora claimed that she planned on utilizing it to get a piece of jewelry or another splurge for herself.
Ken Jennings: Won $3.37 Million on ‘Jeopardy!’
Ken Jennings was released to star condition when he won 74 consecutive “Jeopardy!” games in 2004. His regular-season winnings completed $2.52 million, and to this particular day he holds the documents for a lot of successive video games won as well as greatest jackpots throughout regular-season play. Jennings also showed up on “Risk!” events, bringing his overall winnings from the show to $3.37 million.
What he performed with the prize money: “After caring for the 3 vital T’s (tax obligations, tithing as well as new widescreen TELEVISION) it was a lot less than the three-million-plus you saw on ‘Jeopardy!,’ yet it was still even more money than I ever thought I would certainly have in my entire life,” Jennings composed on his blog. “Most of that is bought your common boring places: stocks, bonds, realty, and so on. I do not intend to be one of these lottery winners you see insolvent on TV a few years later on, having currently lost it all. Some has currently mosted likely to charity, as well as I plan to do a lot even more of that. I do not really have an animal crusade, yet I can see a fair bit going to educational reasons– scholarships and so on.”.
The earnings did allow Jennings to stop his day job as a developer, and he currently works from house as a freelance writer.
” That’s really the only major purchase I have actually set aside from the ‘Risk!’ millions: more time with my family,” he wrote.
Kevin Olmstead: Won $2.18 Million on ‘Who Wants To Be a Millionaire’ and $27,000 on ‘Jeopardy!’
Kevin Olmstead won $27,000 on “Jeopardy!” in the very early ’90s– which is nothing to scoff at– but he won really large on “That Intends to Be a Millionaire.” In 2001, Olmstead won $2.18 million on the program, AOL reported.
What he finished with the cash prize: “With the earnings, I entered a luxury condo with renovations as well as many new home furnishings, as well as I got the car of my desires– a totally filled minivan,” Olmstead informed AOL.
He chose a Chrysler Community & Nation over a Corvette or a Porsche “since such are honestly not practical in the Midwest,” he claimed.
Since his 2010 interview with AOL, he was still functioning his day work as an ecological engineer.
David Legler: Won $1.76 Million on ‘Twenty One’
David Legler was an MBA student at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business when he won $1.76 million on “Twenty One” in 2000, AOL reported.
What he finished with the prize money: “Soon after winning, we did splurge a little,” Legler informed AOL. “My other half and I spent a month in Europe, spending an excellent portion of that time exploring Scandinavia, which was terrific. A little bit was made use of to assist the family members– [I] obtained my parents a new automobile and also [helped] them pay some debt, assisted my sister fund her college education, and so on. Yet a lot of the money was spent. […] It’s absolutely helped to have a little nest egg, making it much easier to weather the 2001 recession when I was incapable to discover job post-MBA.”.
Ed Toutant: Won $1.86 Million on ‘Who Wants To Be a Millionaire’ and $11,401 on ‘Jeopardy!’
Like Olmstead, Ed Toutant won huge money on numerous video game programs. He won $11,401 on “Risk!” in 1989, and also won $1.86 million on “Who Intends to Be a Millionaire” in 2001, AOL reported.
What he finished with the cash prize: Toutant eventually relinquished his job at IBM 4 years after his win on “That Wants To Be a Millionaire,” but he really did not considerably transform his way of living otherwise.
” I tried not to let my windfall change my life very much,” he informed AOL. “I was currently happy with that I was before I won as well as I really did not want people to think that the cash had transformed me.”.
Toutant contributed some of his jackpots to charity and likewise made use of some of his funds to help sustain his good friends’ enthusiasm jobs. He purchased a small house, but he kept the very same pick-up truck he was driving prior to his “Millionaire” win. Toutant likewise invested in a brewpub, AOL reported.
Michelle Loewenstein Moore: Won $1 Million on ‘Wheel of Fortune’
In 2008, Michelle Loewenstein Moore came to be the first “Wheel of Fortune” candidate to win the $1 million prize, AOL reported.
What she did with the prize money: Moore– who informed AOL that “the tax obligations were awful”– maintained her work as a flower designer. She said she’s saving most of the cash she won for a wet day. However she did splurge a little.
” Don’t get me wrong, I did go on a few buying journeys,” Moore said.
Kathy Cox: Won $1 Million on ‘Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?’
In 2008, Georgia superintendent of schools Kathy Cox ended up being the first-ever entrant on “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” to win the $1 million initial prize, AOL reported.
What she did with the cash prize: Cox had always intended on donating her profits to charity. She gave away $500,000 to 3 colleges for deaf and also blind children. But she needed to provide the remainder of the cash prize to a personal bankruptcy trustee after her other half’s building and construction business went southern as well as the pair was forced to state insolvency, AOL reported.
Julia Collins: Won $428,100 on ‘Jeopardy!’
Julia Collins was thirty years old and out of work when she showed up on “Risk!” She won 20 video games in a row and also $428,100– one of the most a lady has ever before won on the show during regular-season play.
What she performed with the cash prize: Since Collins had not been working when she won on the show, she utilized the money to fund time living in Europe.
” I went to Paris for a month and also invested a week in London,” she told Kiplinger. “How often do you have time and money at the same time? When you’re working, you can never ever take some time off like that.”.
Collins prepared to save as well as spend the remainder of her winnings.
Tomorrow Rodriguez: Won $1 Million on ‘Deal or No Deal’
Tomorrow Rodriguez, that works with at-risk young people at the University of Texas at Austin, won $1 million in 2008 when she appeared on the show “Offer or No Bargain,” CNBC reported.
What she finished with the cash prize: Before the program, Rodriguez was living income to income and also had $100,000 well worth of student loans. Winning on “Offer or No Deal” enabled her to repay those loans and also break out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, CNBC reported. She likewise contributed money to causes within her neighborhood, put money away to assist money her little girl’s imagine attending medical institution, went on getaways with her household and began saving and investing. Rodriguez claimed that she still adheres to a budget and is very conscientious regarding her spending.
” I have a Strategy A, B, a back-up and an extra job,” she told CNBC. And also she additionally withstands useless acquisitions.
” If I want to purchase it, I can purchase it,” said Rodriguez. “However I won’t. That’s frivolous spending.”.
Austin Rogers: Won $461,000 on ‘Jeopardy!’
New York City-based bartender Austin Rogers came to be a social media feeling many thanks to his distinct individuality when he appeared on “Jeopardy!” in 2017. Rogers wound up winning $411,000 over 12 video games ($ 461,000 consisting of tournaments), putting him in sixth area for all-time normal season winnings.
What he finished with the prize money: Rogers planned to save the money as opposed to invest it.
” I don’t have any type of real demand for that much money,” he informed the Associated Press. “I live a delighted life, I’ve obtained a nice apartment, I don’t have a girlfriend that I require to invest money on now, I do not such as expensive apparel, I do not have a car.”.
Matt McMahan: Won $31,700 on ‘Wheel of Fortune’
Matt McMahan showed up on “Wheel of Lot of money” in 2017 as well as won $31,700 in cash and prizes. His winnings included a trip to Chile and a cruise down the Danube River, which together were valued at $15,300. He additionally won $16,400 in cash, MarketWatch reported.
What he finished with the cash prize: Due to the fact that McMahan needed to pay taxes on his jackpots, he requested for downgraded variations of the trips that completed $10,800 rather than $15,300. He made use of several of his cash profits to pay for the tax obligations on the trips and wound up with around $6,000 left in cash after taxes.
” Experiences deserve more than money now,” he informed MarketWatch.
Arthur Chu: Won $297,200 on ‘Jeopardy!’
Arthur Chu won 11 video games as well as $297,200 throughout his appearance on “Jeopardy!” in 2014. The author, actor and voice-over musician ended up being referred to as the “Risk! bad guy” throughout his time on the show because of his unusual behavior as well as way of playing the game.
What he performed with the prize money: Chu “spent aggressively” in Vanguard’s Target Retirement 2050 Fund, he informed Money. But besides upping his financial investments, Chu really did not make any significant way of life modifications or any type of big acquisitions.
” I have no intention of stopping my job in the near future yet just knowing that you do not need a task is exceptionally freeing,” he said. “Recognizing that I can buy virtually anything I desired if I really wished to is exceptionally releasing– as well as, paradoxically, having this knowledge suggests I no longer consider points I want but can’t have nearly as much.”.
Reddit User Laleonaenojada: Won $22,500 on ‘Jeopardy!’
Reddit individual laleonaenojada won $22,500 after appearing on 2 episodes of ‘Risk!’ in 2011.
What they did with the prize money: Laleonaenojada put the majority of their money right into an IRA, however they likewise had some fun with the winnings.
” I utilized a good part to go on a trip to Peru with my husband,” they stated.
Reddit User Nyctourguide: Won $50,000 on ‘Million Dollar Password’
Reddit individual Nyctourguide won $50,000 when they appeared on “Million Dollar Password” in 2008.
” I was really nervous however played well,” they claimed. “Both [stars] on there with me were Rosie O’Donnell and also Tony Hawk.”.
What they made with the cash prize: Nyctourguide used their jackpots to purchase a 2004 Toyota Camry.
” [It’s] still going strong,” they created in 2014. “It’s a terrific car.”.
Caitlin Burke: Won $53,618 on ‘Wheel of Fortune’
Fashion stylist Caitlin Burke had the ability to address a “Wheel of Lot of money” puzzle with just one letter exposed when she appeared on the program in 2010, the New york city Article reported. Burke took home a total of $53,618 in cash and also prizes, consisting of a journey to Grenada.
What she did with the prize money: Burke originally wanted to provide her cash prize away, yet her partner at the time chatted her from it. Rather, she utilized $20,000 of her payouts to pay down her student loans, acquired a developer handbag and took a pal on a vacation to Budapest and Prague.
Jay Rogers: Won $25,000 on ‘Who Wants To Be a Millionaire’
Jay Rogers was a participant on “That Intends to Be a Millionaire” in 2011. Although he really did not win $1 million, he did leave with $25,000.
What he performed with the prize money: “I stop my job operating at a faceless, corporate fitness center,” he informed the New york city Blog Post. “I hated the work, as well as the ‘Millionaire’ money was a get-out-of-jail-free card. I recognized I might make the cash go for 5 or 6 months.”.
Although Rogers did eventually return to operate at a brand-new job, he had the ability to appreciate his jackpots. He took a trip to the U.K. and also paid for driving lessons.
Jade Greene-Grant: Won $55,000 and Prizes on ‘Wheel of Fortune’
School educator Jade Greene-Grant won $55,000, a trip to Mexico and also a new car when she was a contestant on “Wheel of Lot of money” in 2016.
What she did with the cash prize: “The majority of people go on to win a car or money or a journey. To win all 3 was extraordinary,” Greene-Grant told the New york city Blog Post.
She updated the car she won from a Ford Carnival to a Ford Traveler and took her other half on the Mexico journey. She made use of the cash to settle debt and save for a down payment on a house.
Andrea Schwartz: Won $33,000 on ‘The Price Is Right’
Andrea Schwartz showed up on “The Cost Is Right” in March 2012 as well as wound up winning $1,200 in cash, a Mazda2, a pool table, a shuffleboard table and also a pair of earrings. Her complete payouts were valued at $33,000.
What she performed with the cash prize: Schwartz informed AV Club that she had to pay California state income taxes upfront on her prizes prior to she in fact received them. She was likewise in charge of paying the taxes as well as enrollment on the Mazda2 she won.
” It was extra like an investment, really,” she said. “I was fortunate to have had a little money in savings, plus the $1,200 I won in Plinko.”.
Schwartz wound up marketing the vehicle, pool table and also shuffleboard table, though she sold both game tables for a lot less than their actual value.
” I paid taxes on $14,000 for those 2 tables and also marketed them for $4,500,” she said. “I took a bite on that particular one.”.
Fortunately, Schwartz still walked away with thousands in payouts, which she used to invest in her mobile food business.
” I had a tiny bit of cash to start this business, but I don’t believe I would certainly have done it without right stuff I won on ‘The Rate Is Right,'” she told AV Club. “Currently I have a small mobile food business on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe.”.
Kirk and Brooke Spangler: Won $1.4 Million on ‘The Wall’
Father-daughter duo Kirk and also Brooke Spangler took home $1.4 million on an episode of NBC’s “The Wall surface” that broadcast in February 2022. They were the show’s largest champions at the time, according to the New York radio station Big Frog 104.
What they did with the cash prize: Brooke informed the radio station that her dad, who is a solitary papa of 2 as well as a 25-year employee at the State College of New York at Geneseo, would not be leaving his work despite the windfall.
” He’s not going to retire as numerous believed he would,” she claimed. “He’s possibly mosting likely to work both years he has left and afterwards buy himself a new vehicle since his has 290,000 miles on it. It’s on its last legs. He awaits a new car.”.
Christina Porcelli and Steve Lester: Won $1 Million on ‘Beat Shazam’
On a June 2017 episode, Nashville, Tennessee-based pair Christina Porcelli as well as Steve Lester became the initial participants to win the $1 million prize on “Beat Shazam,” The Wrap reported.
What they finished with the prize money: The pair told The Cover they would be making use of some of the money to pay for their wedding celebration, giving some to relative as well as utilizing even more of the money to purchase a car for Porcelli.
Visualized: Jamie Foxx, host of “Beat Shazam”.
James Holzhauer: Won $2.46 Million on ‘Jeopardy!’
“Jeopardy!” profits, with $131,127 won on an episode that broadcast in April 2023. As a matter of fact, Holzhauer holds the “Risk!” documents for every one of the leading 10 single-game winnings. He likewise has the second-highest number of successive games won with 32 and the second-highest total winnings during regular-season play with $2.46 million.
What he did with the prize money: Holzhauer stated that he intended to invest several of his winnings taking a trip the globe with his spouse.
” I would certainly like to check out Sicily,” he informed Money. “Of locations I’ve already been, my faves are Spain and also Japan, and I ‘d go back to both in a heart beat.”.
He additionally planned to treat his member of the family.
” I wish to lastly send my old guy and his missus to the UNITED STATE Open this summer,” he informed CNBC.
Holzhauer additionally offered some of his profits to charities in his home of Las vega, including a $10,000 donation to the Las Vegas-Clark Region Collection Area Foundation, a $10,000 donation to the Las Vegas Nature Gallery and also an added contribution to the Ronald McDonald Home Charities of Greater Las vega, CNBC reported.