'Jeopardy' host Ken Jennings and Matt Damon win $1 million prize on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'
The gameshow whiz did it again by bagging the top prize on yet another trivia test.
Aug. 4 2025, Published 12:45 p.m. ET
Ken Jennings still holds the record for the longest winning streak on "Jeopardy!" with 74 wins, and he is flaunting his trivia knowledge again, this time on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." In a special celebrity edition of the show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the host of "Jeopardy!" paired up with Hollywood star Matt Damon and took the game by storm to win $1 million for the Oscar-winning actor's nonprofit water.org.
On Wednesday night’s episode of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", Jennings and Damon made history by winning the top prize. Damon, who has a long-standing faux feud with Kimmel, was pelted by insults throughout the show, while Jennings did all the heavy lifting to win money. Together, the pair made it to the very last question, and they didn't seem to struggle at all as they still had one lifeline remaining.
With a ton of confidence, Jennings and Damon faced the final question, which read, “Which of these words is used to describe one of the most beautiful auditory effects on Earth, the sound made by the leaves of trees when wind blows through them?” As soon as Kimmel finished reading, it was clear that Jennings had the win in the bag. However, since they had the "50/50 Lifeline" remaining, Damon decided to take it, just to be safe. With things made easier, Jennings locked in the correct answer, and the duo won $1 million as the confetti dropped from the ceiling.
While the pair impressively won the game, Kimmel didn't refrain from making fun of Damon to keep the faux feud going. “Ken and what appears to be a yak are in the hot seat,” the host said before poking fun at Damon. “Listen, Matt Damon has an I.Q. of, I think it’s been measured in the 70s,” Kimmel quipped.
With their victory, the "Jeopardy!" host and "Odyssey" actor joined the coveted list of celebrities who won the top prize on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," alongside David Chang (with Mina Kimes) and Ike Barinholtz and his father Alan.
Speaking to Variety, Jennings shared his experience on the show and how it felt to win big. “It’s not my first time on ‘Millionaire’ and my first time I did not win,” Jennings said.
“I think I left around 100k, so this was very exciting. I’ve never actually seen the confetti drop. I think what we’ve learned is that Matt Damon is worth 900,000 extra dollars when I play ‘Millionaire,'” he further told the publication. Jennings also shared that it was Kimmel's idea to pair him up with Damon, as he thought it would be funny.
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