A software engineer from Salt Lake City, Utah...

Ken Jennings

Hey there Utah, this is Ken Jennings from Salt Lake City, and I hope the whole Beehive State will be buzzing about my appearance on Jeopardy!

2020 Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time winner: $1,000,000 + a trophy + the title "The Greatest of All Time".
2019 All-Star Games captain of 1st runner-up Team Ken: a share of $300,000 split three ways with Matt Jackson and Monica Thieu.
2014 Battle of the Decades 1st runner-up: $100,000.
2011 IBM Challenge 1st runner-up: $150,000 + $150,000 to VillageReach.
2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions 1st runner-up: $500,000. Ken had a bye into Round 5 (the finals) of the UToC.
Season 20/21 74-time champion: $2,520,700 + $2,000.

After playfully tying Brian Weikle's single-day cash winnings record of $52,000 (set in his 3rd game, #4296, aired 2003-04-14) three times (on 2004-07-09, 2004-07-12, and 2004-07-22), Ken shattered it with a $75,000 finish in his 38th game, the last game of Season 20 (#4595, aired 2004-07-23). (Shortly before the end of his streak, on show #4653, aired 2004-11-24, Ken topped Brian's record once more with a $55,099 win.) Ken's record lasted over six years, until Roger Craig broke it with a $77,000 finish in his second game (#5977, aired 2010-09-14).

Ken appeared on ABC's 500 Questions on 2016-05-26, as the first player of the show's second season. He was not required to challenge and eliminate Season 1's concluding player, Season 18 2-time champion Richard Mason, but instead began the season instead of the show's defending player. As a result, Richard was not invited to continue his run. Ken was eliminated on question 4 by 2012 College Championship winner Monica Thieu and did not win any money.

Ken appeared by webcam as the "Ask the Expert" lifeline on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on 2008-11-03 through 2008-11-07 and again on 2008-11-21; later Ken appeared as the expert on 2009-08-19 during the show's brief return to prime time (both under the 15-question clock format). He would appear again as a contestant on November 14 & 17, 2014 as part of Guinness Week, and won $100,000 (under the show's new 14-question shuffle format).

Ken won $500,000 on Fox's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? on 2008-10-10, opting not to try the $1 million question in the category SOCIAL STUDIES at the risk of losing all but $25,000 of his winnings; had he actually played the question, he would've been right. With his $500,000 win, he once again became the all-time highest game show money winner, surpassing Brad Rutter. Ken's wife Mindy and son Dylan were in audience attendance for the show and appeared on-camera repeatedly.

Ken won $100,000 in GSN's Grand Slam 2007 tournament, having defeated World Series of Pop Culture 2007 winner Victor Lee on 2007-08-04, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Super Greed, and Wheel of Fortune winner Phyllis Harris on 2007-08-25, The Weakest Link winner Michelle Kitt on 2007-09-01, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire winner Ogi Ogas on 2007-09-08. Ogi had defeated Brad Rutter in the tournament on 2007-08-18.

Ken won $714.29 (a 1/49 share of a $35,000 pot) on the Mob on 1 vs. 100 on 2006-10-20. He entered the Mob in the premiere episode (2006-10-13) in seat #13 and lasted the longest of the 100 initial Mob members. He later returned to compete on the show's "Last Man Standing" special that aired on 2007-02-09.

Ken appeared as an expert on Best Ever Trivia Show on various episodes throughout the summer 2019 season.

Ken appeared as an master mind on GSN's Master Minds in various episodes in 2020-2021.

Author of Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs (2006) and Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac: 8888 Questions in 365 Days (2008).

Web site at ken-jennings.com.
List of favorite movies, 1921-2003, at jenningsbaby.8m.com

Jeopardy! Message Board user name: KenJennings
Father's Jeopardy! Message Board user name: KJR Seattle
Wife's Jeopardy! Message Board user name: minders

[Podiums] [FJ! reactions]

Ken appeared in the following 75 archived games:
#4657, aired 2004-11-30 Ken Jennings vs. Nancy Zerg vs. David Hankins Ken Jennings game 75. Nancy Zerg ends Ken's streak. (Jerry...
#4656, aired 2004-11-29 Ken Jennings vs. Rob Kimbro vs. Kathi Fry Ken Jennings game 74.
#4655, aired 2004-11-26 Ken Jennings vs. Andrew Smith vs. Sanda Kurtz Ken Jennings game 73.
#4654, aired 2004-11-25 Ken Jennings vs. Philip Graves vs. Whitney Donaghy Ken Jennings game 72.
#4653, aired 2004-11-24 Ken Jennings vs. Lisa Buckhout vs. Dan Ford Ken Jennings game 71. Ken sets a new second-highest single-day...
#4642, aired 2004-11-09 Ken Jennings vs. Jeff Hoppes vs. Dave Oosterhuis Ken Jennings game 70.
#4641, aired 2004-11-08 Ken Jennings vs. Robert Kirkpatrick vs. Jennifer Peebles Ken Jennings game 69.
#4640, aired 2004-11-06 Ken Jennings vs. Ryan Cook vs. Leo Wolpert Ken Jennings game 68. U.S. presidential election coverage on 2004-11-02...
#4639, aired 2004-11-05 Ken Jennings vs. John Murray vs. Elizabeth Costello Ken Jennings game 67.
#4638, aired 2004-11-04 Ken Jennings vs. Jerry Taggart vs. Jennifer Knapp Ken Jennings game 66.
#4637, aired 2004-11-03 Ken Jennings vs. Denise Tanyol vs. Rob Perry Ken Jennings game 65. Ken breaks Kevin Olmstead's record for...
#4636, aired 2004-11-01 Ken Jennings vs. Ben Wiles vs. Lisa Ellis Ken Jennings game 64.
#4635, aired 2004-10-29 Ken Jennings vs. Brian Shipley vs. Sandy Grimwade Ken Jennings game 63. Ken gets his tenth consecutive correct...
#4634, aired 2004-10-28 Ken Jennings vs. Lori Ann Tennant vs. Bob Joseph Ken Jennings game 62.
#4633, aired 2004-10-27 Ken Jennings vs. Adam Villani vs. Merritt Hamilton Allen Ken Jennings game 61.
#4632, aired 2004-10-26 Ken Jennings vs. Jeff Matthews vs. Mary Carpenter Ken Jennings game 60.
#4631, aired 2004-10-25 Ken Jennings vs. Jennifer Harriss vs. Nathan Gordon Ken Jennings game 59. Ken breaks the $2 million mark.
#4625, aired 2004-10-15 Ken Jennings vs. Josh Rosenfeld vs. José Ruiz Jr. Ken Jennings game 58.
#4624, aired 2004-10-14 Ken Jennings vs. Graham House vs. K.C. Backer Ken Jennings game 57. (Tie Domi: Hi, I'm Tie Domi...
#4623, aired 2004-10-13 Ken Jennings vs. Marielle Poss vs. Larry Bellinger Ken Jennings game 56.
#4622, aired 2004-10-12 Ken Jennings vs. Matt Kleinmaier vs. Marcy Palino Ken Jennings game 55. (Jimmy: Howdy! Come along and sing...
#4621, aired 2004-10-11 Ken Jennings vs. Sunny Schomaker vs. Tristan Mabry Ken Jennings game 54. (Cheryl: Go to outer space without...
#4620, aired 2004-10-08 Ken Jennings vs. Aimee Watson vs. Al Lindke Ken Jennings game 53.
#4619, aired 2004-10-07 Ken Jennings vs. Steve Kornya vs. Jennifer Lord Ken Jennings game 52.
#4618, aired 2004-10-06 Ken Jennings vs. Kathryn Dorminey vs. Bill Carter Ken Jennings game 51.
#4617, aired 2004-10-05 Ken Jennings vs. Pat Greene vs. Jay Wolman Ken Jennings game 50.
#4616, aired 2004-10-04 Ken Jennings vs. Jeff Suchard vs. Beth Salkind Ken Jennings game 49. First regular play game of Season...
#4605, aired 2004-09-17 Ken Jennings vs. Marilyn Werner vs. Greg Taylor Ken Jennings game 48.
#4604, aired 2004-09-16 Ken Jennings vs. John Cook vs. Elaine Skopelja Ken Jennings game 47.
#4603, aired 2004-09-15 Ken Jennings vs. Cara Butler vs. David Fishbach Ken Jennings game 46.
#4602, aired 2004-09-14 Ken Jennings vs. Kate Duffy vs. Robert Quinn Ken Jennings game 45.
#4601, aired 2004-09-13 Ken Jennings vs. Dana Dolan vs. Bruce England Ken Jennings game 44.
#4600, aired 2004-09-10 Ken Jennings vs. Kollin Min vs. Bill Scheller Ken Jennings game 43.
#4599, aired 2004-09-09 Ken Jennings vs. Amy Helmes vs. Todd Perkins Ken Jennings game 42.
#4598, aired 2004-09-08 Ken Jennings vs. Adam Meyer vs. Laura Gustafson Ken Jennings game 41.
#4597, aired 2004-09-07 Ken Jennings vs. Bob Watts vs. Rich Hartz Ken Jennings game 40.
#4596, aired 2004-09-06 Ken Jennings vs. Betsey Casman vs. J.D. Smith Ken Jennings game 39. First game of Season 21. New title graphics.
#4595, aired 2004-07-23 Ken Jennings vs. Sarah Mulloy vs. Kristine O'Connell-McCoy Ken Jennings game 38. Ken sets a new single-day cash...
#4594, aired 2004-07-22 Ken Jennings vs. Michael Jaeger vs. Denele Hamada Ken Jennings game 37.
#4593, aired 2004-07-21 Ken Jennings vs. Liese Tamburrino vs. Art Borgemenke Ken Jennings game 36.
#4592, aired 2004-07-20 Ken Jennings vs. Christopher Mensel vs. Susan Keller Ken Jennings game 35. Ken surpasses Brad Rutter’s total of...
#4591, aired 2004-07-19 Ken Jennings vs. Beverly Herter vs. Tim Crockett Ken Jennings game 34.
#4590, aired 2004-07-16 Ken Jennings vs. Mary McCarthy vs. Frank McNeil Ken Jennings game 33.
#4589, aired 2004-07-15 Ken Jennings vs. Lou Ascatigno vs. Tom Vanderloo Ken Jennings game 32.
#4588, aired 2004-07-14 Ken Jennings vs. Greg Narver vs. Darcy Smith Ken Jennings game 31.
#4587, aired 2004-07-13 Ken Jennings vs. Irene Lawrence vs. Max Corrick Ken Jennings game 30. Ken breaks the $1 million mark.
#4586, aired 2004-07-12 Ken Jennings vs. Rich Carroll vs. Jennifer Lajewski Ken Jennings game 29.
#4585, aired 2004-07-09 Ken Jennings vs. Kate Carlyle vs. Darcy Vernier Ken Jennings game 28.
#4584, aired 2004-07-08 Ken Jennings vs. Oliver Mellet vs. Leonard Koss Ken Jennings game 27.
#4583, aired 2004-07-07 Ken Jennings vs. Michael Vance vs. Vanessa Osborne Ken Jennings game 26. (Sarah: We'll go beyond the burrito...
#4582, aired 2004-07-06 Ken Jennings vs. Tom Aquino vs. Jenny Miller Ken Jennings game 25.
#4581, aired 2004-07-05 Ken Jennings vs. Lucinda Sabino vs. Nick Aretakis Ken Jennings game 24.
#4580, aired 2004-07-02 Ken Jennings vs. Judy MacLeod Reardon vs. Mary Ann Eitler Ken Jennings game 23.
#4579, aired 2004-07-01 Ken Jennings vs. Vicki Reynolds vs. Chris Mason Ken Jennings game 22.
#4578, aired 2004-06-30 Ken Jennings vs. Ryan McClarren vs. Sue Richman Ken Jennings game 21.
#4577, aired 2004-06-29 Ken Jennings vs. Alan Paul vs. Laura Leslie Ken Jennings game 20.
#4576, aired 2004-06-28 Ken Jennings vs. Michael Magdalena vs. Lori Fountain Ken Jennings game 19.
#4575, aired 2004-06-25 Ken Jennings vs. Chris Edwards vs. Michael Cudahy Ken Jennings game 18.
#4574, aired 2004-06-24 Ken Jennings vs. Bryan Givens vs. Miriam Bamberger Ken Jennings game 17.
#4573, aired 2004-06-23 Ken Jennings vs. Cathy Weber vs. Sarah Jane Woodall Ken Jennings game 16. (Sarah: We're doing our best for...
#4572, aired 2004-06-22 Ken Jennings vs. Rick Faulkner vs. Kelly Parker Ken Jennings game 15.
#4571, aired 2004-06-21 Ken Jennings vs. Matt Ottinger vs. Scheri Mullins Ken Jennings game 14.
#4570, aired 2004-06-18 Ken Jennings vs. Bret Bradigan vs. Ellen Cook Ken Jennings game 13.
#4569, aired 2004-06-17 Ken Jennings vs. Steve DiGiulio vs. Deirdre Basile Ken Jennings game 12.
#4568, aired 2004-06-16 Ken Jennings vs. Patricia Davis vs. Josh Thorpe Ken Jennings game 11.
#4567, aired 2004-06-15 Ken Jennings vs. Karen Gasperino vs. David Steinhardt Ken Jennings game 10.
#4566, aired 2004-06-14 Ken Jennings vs. Carla DenHartog vs. Joe Riley Ken Jennings game 9.
#4565, aired 2004-06-11 Ken Jennings vs. Al Arsenault vs. Ethan Culbreth Ken Jennings game 8.
#4564, aired 2004-06-10 Ken Jennings vs. Susan Gress vs. Laura Adomunas Ken Jennings game 7. Ken runs four categories.
#4563, aired 2004-06-09 Ken Jennings vs. Kevin Stanley vs. Anne Fritz Ken Jennings game 6. (Jimmy: If you can't run away...
#4562, aired 2004-06-08 Ken Jennings vs. Corey Halgren vs. Paula Filson Ken Jennings game 5.
#4561, aired 2004-06-07 Ken Jennings vs. Josh Hornik vs. Clinton Wieden Ken Jennings game 4.
#4560, aired 2004-06-04 Ken Jennings vs. Neil Thom vs. Dane Petersen Ken Jennings game 3. (Jimmy: During the Depression, some people...
#4559, aired 2004-06-03 Ken Jennings vs. Chad Kaihe vs. Carrie Youngblood Ken Jennings game 2.
#4558, aired 2004-06-02 Jerry Harvey vs. Ken Jennings vs. Julia Lazarus Ken Jennings game 1.
Ken would later appear on Jeopardy! as Ken Jennings in the following 3 archived games:
#4783, aired 2005-05-25 Ken Jennings vs. Jerome Vered vs. Brad Rutter 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions Round 5, game 3.
#4782, aired 2005-05-24 Brad Rutter vs. Ken Jennings vs. Jerome Vered 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions Round 5, game 2.
#4781, aired 2005-05-23 Jerome Vered vs. Brad Rutter vs. Ken Jennings 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions Round 5, game 1.

[player statistics]

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