Here's how much current Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host Jimmy Kimmel won as a contestant on the show back in 2001. The original series of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire debuted in 1998 in the UK, hosted by Chris Tarrant. The format sees contestants faced with an increasingly difficult series of questions as they climb towards the titular cash prize. The show could be nail-bitingly intense, and the concept soon went global, with different takes on the show arriving in Russia, Australia, India and many other countries.
The U.S. version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire landed on ABC a year after the show's UK debut. The late, great Regis Philbin was the first host, and the show has been around in various incarnations ever since. After Philbin, other hosts of the American version include Cedric the Entertainer, Chris Harrison and The Expendables star Terry Crews. It's fair to see the success of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire permeated pop culture in a very noticeable way, which included parodies on The Simpsons while the program played a major role in the plot of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire.
The U.S. version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire seems unkillable, as despite being cancelled more than once - with the most recent canning being in 2019 - it always comes back. Comedian and chat show host Jimmy Kimmel is the latest to front the show, which debuted in April 2020. This iteration is more celebrity-focused, which is somewhat fitting as Kimmel himself was a contestant on a celebrity version hosted by Philbin way back in 20o1. He did pretty well for himself too, as he netted $125,000 for the Doug Flutie Jr. Autism foundation.
Jimmy Kimmel was best known for The Man Show when he appeared on this comedy version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. He managed to answer twelve questions correctly, nabbing $125,000 from the question "On the TV series "Sesame Street" Big Bird always remains what age?", with the correct answer being six. He did pretty well on the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire game, and in later years became better known for hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which began in 2003.
The revived Jimmy Kimmel Who Wants To Be A Millionaire proved to be a solid ratings success, leading to a second season. A third season of the show has yet to be greenlit, however, but given the show's longevity, it feels somewhat inevitable.