Ken Jennings Still Hosts 'Jeopardy' — And Has Made a Fortune From It

When long-time Jeopardy host Alex Trebek passed away, fans of the show couldn't imagine who would be chosen to fill such large shoes. But Sony Pictures Television and CBS Media figured out how to keep things moving. Interestingly enough, the production company selected both Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik to split the role as Jeopardy host.

So, how did the career move help Ken Jennings' net worth?

Jennings, who is an author and star of Jeopardy, holds the record for most games won on the show. So, having Jennings host the longtime family favorite show was only a natural choice for the company. Keep reading for details on Jennings' net worth and how the role as Jeopardy host fell into his lap.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Jennings is worth about $4 million. This amount comes from his royalties as an author and his game show winnings. Before he made his way onto our TV screens, Jennings was a software engineer at a healthcare staffing company.

Aside from the $1 million he earned from the Ultimate Tournament of Champions on Jeopardy, he won more than $3 million from competing on the show. He has also gotten several endorsement deals from various companies over the years.

Born in 1974 outside of Seattle, Wash., Jennings was drawn to Jeopardy from a young age. The bio on his website says that he grew up in Singapore and Korea because of his dad's job as an attorney, so he didn't grow up in American culture despite being American himself. He used the quiz show to bridge that gap.

Over the years, Jennings would keep his love of game and quiz shows alive. While in college at Brigham Young University, he became captain of the school's quiz team and wrote questions for a company that organizes quiz competitions. 

While working as a software engineer in 2004, Jennings got his first chance to appear on Jeopardy. Since then, he has become the greatest contestant of all time in a tournament against other notable players, earning him $1 million. He also has the longest streak of wins on the show with 74 games.

Jennings has also published a number of books, appeared in ads for companies like FedEx and Allstate, and hosted other shows.

Before Jennings started hosting Jeopardy, he was making a living as an author. His first book, Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs, was published in 2006. It's all about his journey to Jeopardy and how everything came about with that, as well as a history of trivia itself.

Brainiac became a bestseller and Jennings published several more books. So far, he has published five more books that all connect back to something he loves. His book, Maphead, for example, is all about his love of maps. In the book, he travels the world looking for others who love maps and geography just like he does.

According to his website, Jennings lives in his hometown of Seattle with his wife and children. He married his wife Mindy in the fall of 2000 after they both graduated from BYU. The couple has two children named Dylan and Caitlin. Jennings also says the family has a "small, excitable dog named Chance."