Ben Affleck and teammate win rare prize in classic Jimmy Kimmel-hosted game show
Ben Affleck and teammate win rare prize in classic Jimmy Kimmel-hosted game show
Angelica CheyenneThu, July 30, 2026 at 5:35 AM UTC
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Ben Affleck won a cash prize for Jimmy Kimmel hosted game show -Credit:Disney/Eric McCandless
Ben Affleck and Jeopardy! champion Jamie Ding came out as the winner on Wednesday's episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
The two took home the grand prize after correctly answering the 15th and final question on the ABC game show episode aired on July 29. Ben's winnings will go to the 57-year-old Hollywood actor's foundation, the Eastern Congo Initiative. The beginning of the episode, which resumed from where last week's episode left off, featured Ben explaining the specifics of the Eastern Congo Initiative. It was described as an initiative that supported community-based organizations in the region that had been “severely impacted by a very traumatic war.”
For this week's show, it kicked off with Ben and Jamie having only two questions left in the game of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
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“What achievement occurred just two months after a New York Times article said it wouldn’t happen for ‘1 million to 10 million years’?” the $500,000 question stated.
The answers to choose from for this question included splitting the atom, cloning a mammal, the first airplane flight, or the polio vaccine. Jamie quickly thought the answer to be option C, which was the first airplane flight, and Ben agreed.
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“I only remember this because it was a time in my life where I spent time looking up examples that the press got things wrong. Yeah, just randomly,” Ben said. “And I sort of, vaguely, in my subconscious remember the Times and the Wright brothers and that whole thing was 1905, 3 or 4, or something.”
Ben's winnings from the grand prize will go to his charity -Credit:Disney/Eric McCandless
Jamie added, "I think ‘03," before show host Jimmy Kimmel joked, “So much smarter than Matt,” poking fun at Ben's bestie Matt Damon, who competed on the show alongside Ken Jennings last year and also won $1 million.
Since the team of contestants couldn't decide, they chose to use their 50:50 lifeline to eliminate two incorrect answers, leaving options A, splitting the atom, and C, the first airplane, on the ballot.
“Well, C is still on there, but damn it. If it’s not C, it’s A,” Ben joked. “That’s very true. I am still feeling much better about C overall than A because people don’t go outside and look at the sky and dream of splitting the atom, but we all dream of flying.”
Ben's partner on the show was fellow contestant Jamie Ding -Credit:Disney/Eric McCandless
Jimmy then unveiled the correct answer, saying, “Jamie let me tell you what you did get right. 1903 was exactly the year that the Wright brothers flew an airplane into the sky and those cynical, disbelieving, bastards at the New YorkTimes, I guess they just didn’t believe.”
When it came to the million-dollar question, it asked, “In an annual Thanksgiving tradition, all but which of these have been the names of turkeys pardoned by a U.S. president?"
Potential answers were Peanut Butter & Jelly, Tater & Tot, Mac & Cheese, and Spaghetti & Meatball. After reflecting on the options, Ben said, “You must be kidding me,” suggesting they use their Phone-A-Friend lifeline.
Jimmy then reminded that they still had their Ask-the-Host lifeline, to which Ben quipped that they should phone Jamie's friend. Ben and Jamie ended up calling the latter's friend, who helped them agree on the answer being Spaghetti & Meatball, leading to their $1 million grand prize win.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
