“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” premiered on ABC on August 16, 1999. Hosted by Regis Philbin, the game show was originally just going to be a two-week event, but its popularity prompted another two-week special in November. Wanting to keep the excitement going, ABC commissioned “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” as a regular series beginning January 18, 2000. At the time of the series’ end on June 27, 2002 the show had awarded nine savvy people with the million-dollar prize.
New life was given to “Millionaire” when it was produced for syndication and a daily version aired on September 16, 2002, hosted by Meredith Vieira. Another three lucky contestants took home a million dollars during the syndicated version of the show. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” has seen a variety of hosts over the years including Cedric the Entertainer, Terry Crews and Chris Harrison.
An all-celebrity edition premiered in April 2020 with Jimmy Kimmel at the helm. This version returned again in the fall to include a mix of celebs and first responders, with one lucky person making history. Scroll down to see the complete “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” winners list.
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1. John Carpenter
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC/GSN On November 19, 1999 John became the first person to win “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” John is the only winner not to use any life lines … well technically he did use “phone a friend” during the million dollar question to call his parents. Once his father was on the line he surprised everyone by not using it to call for help but to tell his parents he was about to be a million dollar winner.
Winning Question: Which of these U.S. Presidents appeared on the television series “Laugh-in”?
Winning Answer: Richard Nixon -
2. Dan Blonsky
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC/GSN Dan became the second million dollar winner on January 18, 2000.
Winning Question: The Earth is approximately how many miles from the Sun?
Winning Answer: 93 Million -
3. Joe Trela
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC/GSN Joe won the million dollar prize on March 23, 2000.
Winning Question: Which insect shorted out an early supercomputer and inspired the term “computer bug”?
Winning Answer: Moth -
4. Bob House
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC/GSN Bob won the million dollar prize on June 13, 2000.
Winning Question: Which of the following men does not have a chemical element named for him?
Winning Answer: Isaac Newton -
5. Kim Hunt
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC/GSN Kim won the million dollar prize on July 6, 2000.
Winning Question: Which of the following landlocked countries is entirely contained within another country?
Winning Answer: Lesotho -
6. David Goodman
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC/GSN David won the million dollar prize on July 11, 2000.
Winning Question: In the children’s book series, where is Paddington Bear originally from?
Winning Answer: Peru -
7. Kevin Olmstead
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC/GSN On April 10, 2001 Kevin actually walked away with 2,180,000 due to the jackpot increase every episode of $10,000.
Winning Question: Who is credited with inventing the first mass-produced helicopter?
Winning Answer: Igor Sikorsky -
8. Bernie Cullen
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC/GSN Bernie won the million dollar prize on April 15, 2001.
Winning Question: What letter must appear at the beginning of the registration number of all non-military aircraft in the U.S.?
Winning Answer: N -
9. Ed Toutant
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC Ed originally played on January 31, 2001 and lost on the $16,000 question. It was ruled that there was an error in the question so Ed was invited back to try again on September 7, 2001, and it worked.
Winning Question: During WWII, U.S. soilders used the first commercial aerosol cans to hold what?
Winning Answer: Insecticide -
10. Kevin Smith
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC Kevin won the million dollar prize on February 18, 2003
Winning Question: The U.S. icon “Uncle Sam” was based on Samuel Wison, who worked during the War of 1812 as a what?
Winning Answer: Meat Inspector -
11. Nancy Christy
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC/GSN On May 8, 2003 Nancy became the first and only female to win the million dollar prize.
Winning Question: Who did artist Grant Wood use as the model for the farmer in his classic painting “American Gothic”?
Winning Answer: His Dentist -
12. Sam Murray
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC/Fox Sam won the “Million Dollar Tournament of Ten” on November 11, 2009. He was the only contestant to answer the million dollar question correctly.
Winning Question: According to the Population Reference Bureau, what is the approximate number of people who have ever lived on earth?
Winning Answer: 100 Billion -
13. David Chang
Image Credit: ABC/John Fleenor On November 29, 2020, world-traveling chef David Chang became the first celebrity contestant to ever win the million dollar prize. He brought along TV producer Alan Yang as the “smartest person” he knew.
Winning Question: Although he and his wife never touched a light switch for fear of being shocked, who was the first president to have electricity in the White House?
Winning Answer: Benjamin Harrison
