'Jeopardy!' champion surpasses $1 million in winnings in just 14 games

He is the second person to win $1 million on 'Jeopardy!'
By Charlotte Roos  on 

James Holzhauer is by now, a household name. Well, maybe if you're a 'Jeopardy!' fan.

On Tuesday night Holzhauer became the second person to cross the $1 million mark in total earnings on the show. The only other person to accomplish this feat was Jeopardy! hall-of-famer Ken Jennings, whose 74-day winning streak totaled him about $2.5 million. If Holzhauer's hot streak continues, he could reach that number in a fraction of the time.

While he has only been on the show for 14 games, he has shattered records. He not only holds the record for the most money earned in a single show, as of last night he holds the top five spots for that list.

Mashable Top Stories
Want more like this in your inbox?
Sign up for our newsletter.
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up!

Holzhauer's rate of racking up money has inspired the Jeopardy! website to put a graphic on their website called the "James Holzhauer Tracker" that lists his stats.

Mashable Image
Credit: jeopardy.com
Mashable Image
Credit: jeopardy.com

His winnings have a lot of people concerned about where Jeopardy! will get the funds, since their average winner banks about $20,000 per episode. Often game shows like Jeopardy! that have an element of unpredictability in the amount of money they hand out have some sort of insurance policy for rare events like the Holzhauer reign. So don't be too scared for the financial stability of the show.

Besides, with his betting strategy, Holzhauer could find himself in real jeopardy with just one disastrous Daily Double.

Mashable Image
Charlotte Roos

Charlotte is one of the new Culture Fellows at Mashable. She's a recent Ithaca College alum and avid Jeopardy fan. When she's not watching the Great British Baking show, you can probably find her at the local book store or working on her latest art project.


Recommended For You
TikTok ban passes the House (again), with a few major differences
Johnson wears a dark blue suit, white shirt, maroon tie, and spectacles. He stands at a podium/ microphone.

Audio app Airchat probably isn't worth the hype
The Airchat logo surrounded by positive headlines from online publications.

Snapchat will now watermark users' AI-generated images
A phone displays the Snapchat logo in front of a screen that reads "My AI".

Report finds that Big Tech's ad monitoring tools are failing miserably. X is the worst.
A person typing on a laptop with a variety of ad pop-ups hovering around their hands.

Uh-oh, X's Grok AI can now 'understand' images
A phone displaying the Grok xAI logo, which is a white box with a black slash across it.

More in Entertainment


TikTok for Business: Everything you need to know
TikTok for Business


Get up to 25% off sitewide at Solawave
Woman using Solawave

Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for April 23
A phone displaying the New York Times game 'Connections.'

Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for April 23
a phone displaying Wordle

NYT's The Mini crossword answers for April 23
Closeup view of crossword puzzle clues


Who's Bluey's baby daddy? Season 3 finale episode 'Surprise' ends on a major mystery
Bandit plays with Bingo and Bluey in "Surprise!"
The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!