If there’s one thing that keeps us coming back to watch Jeopardy!, it’s the thrill of watching a contestant snag a memorable win. There’s nothing like seeing the joy of someone celebrating their big victory on screen!
Over the years, Jeopardy! has given screentime to some particularly memorable winners. Beginning in 2003 with the revocation of the five-win limit, champions began accruing winning streaks so long that it felt as though they became main characters on the show. Nowadays, long streaks and enormous jackpots are so common on Jeopardy! that we, the audience, have come to expect (and sometimes even be bored by) them.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of the top Jeopardy! winners throughout the show’s history. Some contestants are known for their big cash winnings, while others are known for how long they appeared at the podium. All the folks we’ve listed are fan favorites who we couldn’t bear to see lose. Prepare to go down memory lane as we at Trivia Bliss remind you of your favorite Jeopardy! champions from yesteryear.
We’ve ranked these contestants according to their prowess, saving the biggest winners for last. All the winners we’ve listed have completed enviable feats. Get ready to live vicariously through their accomplishments as you read their impressive records. We’ll also tell you about any fun facts that brought these contestants either acclaim or public favor.
Without further ado, here are the top 13 Jeopardy! winners of all time.
13. Matt Jackson
Matt Jackson is a paralegal born and raised in Washington, D.C. He was a philosophy major at Yale and graduated in 2014. Soon after, he auditioned for Jeopardy! at the urging of his friend Sam Spaulding, who had competed in the College Championship during the fall of 2010. One year late, Matt made his appearance on the Jeopardy! soundstage. His regular season episodes aired between September 25, 2015, and October 14, 2015.
During his time on Jeopardy!, Matt Jackson won 13 games in a row. At the time, this was the fourth-longest winning streak in the show’s history. Throughout his streak, he brought home some serious bank—$413,612, to be exact.
After his departure from regular season Jeopardy!, Matt Jackson returned for the 2015 Tournament of Champions. He was the first runner-up, losing only to Alex Jacob. Matt Jackson earned $100,000 from this appearance.
Four years later, Matt Jackson once again appeared on Jeopardy! during the All-Star Games. He competed with Monica Thieu and Ken Jennings as his teammates—now, that’s a competitive bunch! The trio came in second place and split their $300,000 bounty three ways. This brought Matt Jackson’s total Jeopardy! earnings up to $613,612, making him the tenth-highest Jeopardy! earner of all time.
Matt Jackson was known for his sense of play up at the podium. He would break into a slow and goofy smile when introduced at the podium. Additionally, he’d hold up a number of fingers to indicate how many wins he’d accumulated. This combination was both endearing and unnerving to viewers and has remained iconic in the years following his Jeopardy! appearances.
12. Larissa Kelly
Larissa Kelly is next on our list of notable Jeopardy! champs. She appeared on Season 24, during which she had a winning streak last six games.
From May 20, 2008 to May 28, 2008, Larissa graced our screens up at the Jeopardy! podium. During this time, she surpassed the record for the most money earned during a contestant’s first five days on the show, which had been set by Ken Jennings. Though this record has long been broken, it was extremely notable then.
During her six regular season wins, Larissa Kelly earned $222,597. She also walked away from the game with a $1000 consolation prize for the episode she lost. However, after returning for several tournaments, her total Jeopardy! earnings amount to $655,930. Not too shabby, if we do say so ourselves!
Let’s break down Larissa Kelly’s tournament earnings, shall we? As the runner-up for the 2009 Tournament of Champions, she took home $100,000. Then, as an invitee for the 2014 Battle of the Decades, she automatically earned $5000 despite an early loss. Her biggest monetary win came from the 2019 All-Star Games. During the All-Star Games, she was a member of the winning team of Brad Rutter, David Madden, and herself. (Coincidentally, Brad and Larissa were the Princeton University Quiz Bowl team teammates during college!) The three of them split the $1,000,000 grand prize into thirds.
At the time of her appearance on the regular season Jeopardy!, Larissa Kelly was a grad student in El Cerrito, California. Now, she’s a sci-fi author who lives in Richmond, CA.
Fun fact: two of Larissa Kelly’s family members have also competed on Jeopardy!. Her husband, Jeff Hoppes, and her sister, Arianna Kelly, also appeared on the show. Neither of them ever won an episode, so Larissa gets the family bragging rights!
11. Ryan Long
Ready for a fan-favorite? Ryan Long is another top Jeopardy! winner widely beloved by the show’s audience. A Philadelphia native, Ryan Long worked as a rideshare driver ahead of his Jeopardy! stint. He contracted a serious case of COVID-19 ahead of his first appearance on the show in 2022 which left him hospitalized for several weeks. Needless to say, the stakes were especially high for Ryan as he entered the competition.
Despite suffering from memory difficulties due to COVID-19, Ryan Long performed incredibly well. His winning streak lasted for sixteen episodes that aired during season 38. These episodes aired from May 13, 2022, to June 6, 2022. This winning streak is currently the tenth-longest in Jeopardy! history.
During this time, Ryan Long brought home $299,400 from his wins, plus another $1000 for his losing game. Now that’s quite a bounty!
He also earned $5000 for participating in the 2022 Tournament of Champions. We’re hoping to see Ryan back for future Jeopardy! tournaments, as well!
Ryan Long is a remarkable Jeopardy! candidate in large part because of his background. Unlike other big Jeopardy! winners who hail from elite colleges, he only attended one year of community college. College degree or not, his recall skills are enviable by all.
Fans also flocked to uplift Ryan Long after sharing what he’d do with his Jeopardy! earnings. He told the cameras he looked forward to bringing his son out to California and bringing him to the theme parks he’d always wanted to go to. We’re wishing Ryan and his son the very best!
10. David Madden
Tenth on our list of the top Jeopardy! winners of all time, we’ve got David Madden. David Madden made headlines in 2005 for having what was (at the time) the second-longest winning streak in Jeopardy! history. Only Ken Jennings had achieved a longer streak before David Madden made his mark on our favorite quiz show. As of 2023, he ties for the eighth-longest winning streak in the show’s history.
During his winning streak, David Madden won 19 games and took home $430,400 for his wins, plus $2000 from his losing game. These games aired during seasons 21 and 22 from July 6, 2005, to September 19, 2005.
David Madden returned to the Jeopardy! soundstage for the 2006 Tournament of Champions. Despite beating the eventual champion, Michael Falk, in the first game, he was eliminated during the semifinals. He still took home $10,000 for his appearance, however.
After declining an offer to join the 2014 Battle of the Decades, David participated in the 2019 All-Star Games. He was a member of Brad Rutter and Larissa Kelly’s team. The three of them swept the competition, winning $1,000,000 prize split three ways.
From all of these appearances, David Madden earned $763,733 from Jeopardy!. Jackpot! He’s now the seventh-highest all-time Jeopardy! earner and the eighth-highest earner from regular season Jeopardy!.
When he appeared on the regular season Jeopardy!, David Madden hailed from Berlin, where he was living as he worked to earn a master’s degree in international relations. Since then, he’s founded several for-profit academic competitions, including the National History Bee and Bowl, the National Political Science Bee, and the International History Olympiad. He is also an art historian.
David Madden’s first exposure to Jeopardy! occurred when he was 11 or 12, and from then on, he was hooked. However, his parents didn’t believe him when he said he was going on the show—not until they saw him on the screen, that is!
9. Jason Zuffranieri
In ninth place, we’ve got Jason Zuffranieri. A math teacher from Albuquerque, New Mexico, he won 19 games of Jeopardy! in a row during seasons 35 and 36 in 2019.
Jason Zuffranieri’s episodes aired from July 19, 2019, to September 26, 2019. He walked away from his regular season appearances with $532,496, plus another $2000 as a consolation prize. This sum makes him the seventh-highest regular season earner in the history of Jeopardy!.
Later, Jason Zuffranieri returned to the show for the 2021 Tournament of Champions. He appeared as a wildcard semifinalist after making second place in the quarterfinals. He brought home $10,000 for his two appearances during this tournament.
Before his time on Jeopardy!, Jason Zuffranieri was already a quiz whiz. He’d participated in two national trivia championships and shown his math skills at ten (yes, that’s 1-0!) World Suduko Championships. He also worked as a rocket scientist before he became a math teacher. With a brain that sharp, no wonder he was a shoo-in on Jeopardy!.
8. Julia Collins
Julia Collins is eighth from the top of our Jeopardy! winners list. In 2014, her winning streak of 20 games made Jeopardy! history. Until 2021, she held the record for the longest streak on Jeopardy! held by a woman. When she placed this record, Julia Collins was only bested by Ken Jennings in terms of streak length. She also was the third-highest earner in Jeopardy! history at the time of her appearance.
Julia Collins’s episodes aired between April 21, 2014, and June 2, 2014 during Jeopardy!’s 30th season. She made $428,100 in cash winnings from her correct answers during this time. She also received $1000 upon her departure from the competition.
After her regular season episodes had aired, Julia Collins returned later in 2014 for the Tournament of Champions. She was the second runner-up after having been chosen by wildcard to become a semifinalist. For her efforts, she brought home an enviable $50,000.
Additionally, Julia Collins competed in the 2019 All-Star Games. She was the captain of her team. With teammates Ben Ingram and Seth Wilson, she split $50,000 three ways after the team was eliminated immediately.
Currently, as of 2023, Julia Collins’s 20-game winning streak is the seventh-longest in the history of the show. She also holds the record for the ninth-highest winnings from a regular Jeopardy! season.
In her youth, Julia Collins attended the prestigious Madeira School, a prep school in McLean, Virginia. She received her higher education from Wellesley College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nowadays, she works as a supply chain professional in Kenilworth, Illinois.
7. Cris Pannullo
Next on our list of the top Jeopardy! champs, it’s Cris Pannullo. A New Jersey native, Cris Pannullo appeared on season 39 of Jeopardy! in 2022. His episodes aired from September 30, 2022, to December 6, 2022, with a break in the middle for scheduled Jeopardy! tournament events.
Throughout his 21-game winning streak, Cris Pannullo racked up a whopping $748,286 in winnings. He earned an additional $1000 for his appearance in his losing game.
Cris Pannullo currently holds the record for the sixth-longest winning streak in the history of Jeopardy!. He also comes in fifth place for the highest earnings on a regular season of Jeopardy!. Though he has yet to participate in any special Jeopardy! events, his regular season earnings alone are enough to grant him the eighth spot on the all-time Jeopardy! earners leaderboard. Nice work, Cris!
Before his Jeopardy! winning streak, Cris Pannullo made his television debut as a contestant on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. However, he walked away from his two-episode stint with only $5000. We like to think that Cris is proud of his game show progress, having bested his earnings by over $740,000!
6. Mattea Roach
Sixth on our list of the top Jeopardy! winners of all time is Mattea Roach. This Jeopardy! super-champion, who uses they/them pronouns, is a fan favorite, and for good reason. Their likable nature up at the podium and impressive knowledge for their age—they were only 23 when they first appeared on the show!
Mattea Roach holds the record for the fifth-longest winning streak of all time on Jeopardy!. They had 23 wins in a row throughout season 38, with their episodes airing between April 5, 2022, and May 6, 2022. Throughout this time, they accrued $560,983. Their wins have secured them a spot in Jeopardy! history as the most successful Canadian to ever compete on the show.
Since their appearance on the regular season Jeopardy!, Mattea has appeared as a contestant in a couple of special Jeopardy! events. They were a semifinalist in the 2022 Tournament of Champions, where they earned $10,000. They also came in second place during the 2023 Jeopardy! Masters tournament, clinching $250,000 for their efforts.
During the filming of the Jeopardy! Masters tournament, Mattea’s father tragically passed away. Mattea received the news while on the set of the show. The production team shifted the filming schedule so they could take time off to grieve and be with family before continuing the competition.
Mattea’s feats have earned them several spots on the Jeopardy! Leaderboard of Legends. They hold the records for the fifth-longest winning streak of all time, the sixth-highest earnings during a regular season, and the sixth-highest earnings of all time.
Before appearing on Jeopardy!, Mattea Roach worked as an LSAT tutor in Toronto. They were known for their eclectic queer style up at the podium—there was even a New York Times profile highlighted their choices of vintage blazers and funky earrings.
Additionally, Jeopardy! producer Michael Davies has talked about the marvel of Mattea’s abilities. Supposedly, they never studied to go on Jeopardy!—they simply have an extremely quick wit and an enormous memory. We can’t wait to see Mattea go on to do big and bright things in the world.
5. Brad Rutter
Alright, folks, we’ve officially made it into top five territory! Brad Rutter takes fifth place in our book. Though his original winning streak only lasted for five games, he has since gone on to perform incredibly well in Jeopardy! tournaments, earning him more money than any other contestant in the show’s history.
Brad Rutter originally appeared on Jeopardy! during the show’s 17th season in 2000, back when the maximum number of games a contestant could win was five. And win, he did! Brad took home $55,102 from his five-game stint. This was especially impressive for his age because he was only a college student at the time of this appearance.
The following year, he returned to the Jeopardy! stage for the 2001 Tournament of Champions. He won the tournament, earning him $100,000. After that, he went on to perform admirably in six more tournaments!
In the 2002 Million Dollar Masters tournament, Brad Rutter took the top spot, earning—you guessed it—a million dollars. He brought home over double that as the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions winner—$2,115,000, to be exact. Brad Rutter also won the 2014 Battle of the Decades and the 2019 All-Star Games with his team of Larissa Kelly, David Madden, and himself.
Throughout all of these appearances, Brad Rutter amassed a total jackpot of $4,938,436. That’s more than any other Jeopardy! champ has ever won by almost $600,000!
Because he appeared on the show before the five-game rule was revoked and he’s won so many tournaments thereafter, Brad Rutter boasts the unique fact that he has only lost to a human being once on Jeopardy! throughout all his many appearances. He lost to a robot in the 2011 IBM Challenge and to a human once during the 2020 The Greatest of All Time tournament. Now that’s a piece of trivia to remember!
Since Jeopardy!, Brad Rutter has been on an array of other famous quiz shows, including Grand Slam, The Chase, and Million Dollar Mind Game. He also hosted a game show called InQuizitive himself!
4. Matt Amodio
Matt Amodio takes our fourth place slot in our list of the top 13 Jeopardy! winners of all time. When he first appeared on the show, he was a fifth-year doctoral student at Yale University working towards a PhD in computer science. He continues his academic work remotely in his hometown of Medina, Ohio.
Matt Amodio’s Jeopardy! episodes aired in seasons 37 and 38 between July 21, 2021, and October 11, 2021. His time on the show has been affectionately nicknamed the “Amodio rodeo”. Throughout these episodes, he raked in a massive jackpot of $1,518,601. Nice work, Matt!
During these two regular seasons, Matt Amodio won 38 episodes of Jeopardy! in a row. This feat puts him in third place for the longest streak of consecutive games won in the show’s history. He also has earned the third-most money from playing in a regular Jeopardy! season with his $1.5+ million bounty.
Matt Amodio earned additional money from Jeopardy! for his appearances in the 2022 Tournament of Champions and the 2023 Masters tournament. Matt was eliminated during the semifinals in the Tournament of Champions, but he still took home a consolation prize of $10,000. During the Masters tournament, he was third behind Mattea Roach and James Holzhauer. For his efforts, he was awarded $150,000.
His cumulative Jeopardy! earnings equal $1,668,601. This makes him the fourth-highest earner in the history of the show. He’s also the eleventh-highest earner in all American game shows history!
3. James Holzhauer
Next up is a particularly memorable contestant, James Holzhauer. Self-described as a game show villain, James’s impeccable Daily Double strategy cemented him into the Jeopardy! hall of fame.
As we mentioned earlier, James Holzhauer had an incredible knack for figuring out where the Daily Doubles were located on the board. Once landing on one, he would then place an aggressive bet. He answered with extreme accuracy, which majorly boosted his Jeopardy! earnings. This makes sense, as he works as a professional sports gambler. The man knows how to make a bet!
James Holzhauer’s main season appearances aired during season 35 of Jeopardy! from April 4, 2019 to June 3, 2019. This 32-game streak is the fourth longest in the history of the game. Throughout this time, he earned $2,462,216 from his winnings. He owes a lot of that cash to his Daily Double betting style. This makes him the second-highest earner from any regular season of Jeopardy!.
Not only does James Holzhauer boast the fourth-longest Jeopardy! winning streak and the second-highest earnings from a regular season, he holds every spot on the leaderboard for the top ten highest winnings from a single episode. Matt Amodio has been the first to challenge his single-game earnings, and even he is only in 13th place on this leaderboard!
James Holzhauer’s highest earnings in a single episode amounted to $131,127 during his tenth game on the show, and already at that point he was breaking his own record for the highest earnings in a single game. No wonder he gained almost $2.5 million for his regular-season appearances!
In total, the sum of all of his Jeopardy! winnings equal $3,462,216, placing him third on the list of the highest Jeopardy! earners of all time.
Before appearing on Jeopardy!, James Holzhauer was a contestant on two other quiz shows, The Chase and 500 Questions. He set a record on The Chase for answering 19 questions correctly during a Final Chase round. He also returned for the show’s reboot with Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter in 2021. All these appearances have racked him up some serious cash—enough to become the all-time third-highest-earning American game show contestant!
2. Amy Schneider
Amy Schneider is our runner-up for the top Jeopardy! winner in the game’s history. She’s gained fame and acclaim for having the second-longest winning streak of any Jeopardy! winner after she lasted on the show for 41 episodes!
Amy’s 40 Jeopardy! wins aired on television between November 17, 2021, and January 26, 2022, during the show’s 38th season. Amy answered only one question incorrectly during her first fourteen games on Jeopardy!. Yep, you read that right—only one wrong answer out of all those games. No wonder she’s become such a Jeopardy! legend! She’s the first woman to have achieved such a long winning streak on the show. Additionally, she is the most successful transgender contestant in the history of Jeopardy!.
Throughout her 40 regular season wins, Amy Schneider earned $1,382,800. She broke the $1 million dollar mark during her 28th game. She stated that her Daily Double betting strategy helped her to win and described it as such: “round up the second place score to the nearest thousand, double it, subtract it from my score, and then subtract another thousand in case I’d messed something up.”
Amy has also revealed that if she saw a weaker trivia category of hers on the board, she’d answer those questions first. That way, if she encountered a Daily Double, she wouldn’t have as much money to bet, and the stakes wouldn’t be as high if she answered incorrectly.
Since her regular season appearance, Amy Schneider has returned to the podium twice more: once for the 2022 Tournament of Champions, and again for the 2023 Masters Tournament. She clinched the win for this Tournament of Champions, taking home $250,000. Later, in the Masters Tournament, she came in fifth place and earned $75,000 for her appearance.
In total, Amy Schneider has made $1,632,800 from her Jeopardy! endeavors. This is the sixth-largest bounty in the show’s history.
Funnily enough, Amy’s school classmates predicted she would one day be a Jeopardy! whiz. She was awarded the superlative “Most likely to appear on Jeopardy!” in the eighth grade after a class-wide vote. Young Amy would be so proud of herself now!
1. Ken Jennings
And at the very top of our Jeopardy! winners list, it’s none other than Ken Jennings—who else? The current host of Jeopardy!is also the show’s most acclaimed champion. He holds the record for the longest Jeopardy! winning streak by a long shot—74 games! Ken is also the show’s highest regular season earner, with $2,520,700 to show for it.
Ken Jennings’s winning streak was the very first of his kind. The five-game winning rule had only been revoked one year before his epic Jeopardy! appearance and the longest winning streak before Jennings’s had only lasted eight games. Imagine the surprise of Jeopardy!’s audience when Ken’s 74-game streak took place!
During Ken Jennings’s massive winning streak, some changes were made to how Jeopardy! was run to give every player a chance to win. For example, a new manager for the buzzer system was hired because the old one’s timing gave an advantage to returning champions. Additionally, all players were given more rehearsal time with the buzzers before filming. Despite these changes, Ken Jennings’s reign on Jeopardy! lasted longer than anyone had thought was possible.
Ken Jennings’s first episode occurred during season 20 of Jeopardy!. This episode aired on June 2, 2004. His last episode of the regular season Jeopardy! didn’t air until November 30, 2004, during season 21!
Since his regular season appearances, Ken Jennings has been a contestant on a great number of Jeopardy! specials. From the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions to the 2020 Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament, he’s shown up and shown out behind the podium more than any other Jeopardy! contestant. In the latter tournament, Ken swept the competition, earning $1 million dollars and an inscribed trophy. He was also the runner up in the 2019 All-Star Games, the 2014 Battle of the Decades, the 2011 IBM Challenge, and the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions.
All of Ken Jennings’s earnings as a contestant on Jeopardy! total $4,370,700. That makes him the second highest all-time earner in the show’s history!
In 2021, after the death of Alex Trebek, Ken Jennings began sharing Jeopardy!’s hosting duties with Mayim Bialik. It’s fitting that Ken Jennings has become one of America’s most recognizable game show hosts given his success competing on the same show. Bravo, Ken!
Final Words
You made it through our list of the top Jeopardy! winners of all time! How does it feel? You’re a winner in your own right for getting to the bottom of this and studying up on champ after champ!
Who’s your favorite Jeopardy! mega-winner? Did we miss your favorite? Let us know in the comments section.
Want to know even more about Jeopardy!? Head to our Game Show Archives, where you can learn all there is to know about America’s favorite quiz show. Keep that mind open, and maybe you’ll find yourself on that Jeopardy! soundstage someday!
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