How The Lives Of Jeopardy! Champions Have Changed Since Achieving Fame

Since 2003, "Jeopardy!" has seen a surge in high-performing contestants winning hundreds of thousands — and sometimes millions — of dollars. This resulted from removing the five-game streak limit, which made unlimited wins a possibility. Ken Jennings — who became a permanent "Jeopardy!" host along with Mayim Bialik in July 2022, following the death of beloved longtime host Alex Trebek — was the first such winner in 2004. To date, he remains the show's "Greatest of All Time" and has become a household name outside the "Jeopardy!" world.

But how have other memorable "Jeopardy!" champions fared? With many players going on exciting winning streaks, we've become curious about how their lives have changed since earning both fame and fortune. From the early "Jeopardy!" champions to the May 2023 "Tournament of Champions" winner — "game show villain" James Holzhauer — to the show's first-ever transgender champ, Amy Schneider, this is how the lives of "Jeopardy!" winners have changed since achieving fame.

In 2019, James Holzhauer made headlines for his remarkable 32-game "Jeopardy!" winning streak, which earned him $2,462,216 and put him at No. 2 for regular-season winnings behind Ken Jennings. Holzhauer's earnings were already up to a whopping $3,462,216 from the 2020 "Tournament of Champions" before becoming the $500,000 grand prize winner of the "Jeopardy! Masters" in May 2023. Holzhauer also holds the top prize and, amazingly, all 10 spots on the show's Leaderboard of Legends for the highest winnings in a single game.

Holzhauer was interviewed by various media outlets in 2019, and he told Money Magazine he planned to use some of his winnings to travel the world and to help out his family. "I'd like to finally send my old man and his missus to the U.S. Open this summer," he shared with CNBC. He also planned to donate money to children's charities. "Maybe it's being a father, but something about kids in need really resonates with both me and my wife," he said to "Jeopardy!" "So whoever we can help with this money ... we can certainly help other people more than ourselves at this point."

Having never worked a 9-to-5 job, the Las Vegas-based champ still has plenty of business ventures. In 2021, he began writing a sports betting column for The Athletic and he landed a gig as an expert "Chaser" on ABC's "The Chase."

Matt Amodio, a lifelong "Jeopardy!" fan, only applied for the show at his dad's urging. "I was only reluctantly trying out because I didn't think I would make it, and even if I did make it I wouldn't be very good," Amodio told Entertainment Weekly. It's a good thing he did, because he made $1,518,601 in 2021 from regular-season play, plus more earnings from tournaments. He's ranked No. 3 for 38 consecutive games won and the highest winnings from regular-season play, while his all-time winnings put him at No. 4 on the "Jeopardy!" Leaderboard of Legends. During the show's May 2023 "Tournament of Champions," he came in third, earning another $150,000. 

After earning his Ph.D. in machine learning and artificial intelligence from Yale in 2022, he has worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The champ shared that his winnings have certainly relieved his short-term worries about money. "I will admit that I had some financial considerations in my immediate future ... So on a very practical level, that's helpful," he told Entertainment Weekly. "But more importantly, the idea of just saying 'Jeopardy! champion' ... that's just a tremendous source of pride for me."

In early 2022, Mattea Roach learned they'd appear on "Jeopardy!" after submitting the online test only once "out of boredom," they told NBC News. "I thought I was going to be kind of one and done." However, they went on a surprising 23-game winning streak. Their total earnings were $810,983, which includes their $250,000 winnings from placing second in May 2023's "Tournament of Champions."

Prior to this, the Canadian LSAT tutor had felt down on their luck, anticipating law school application rejection letters. Roach wrote for "Jeopardy!" how the experience has changed them "forever for the better." They wrote, "I never expected that becoming a 23-day 'Jeopardy!' champion would be my pathway to financial security in my twenties, but I feel so blessed that things have turned out this way."

Roach found it extremely rewarding to hear from family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers who said their appearance on the show "made a positive impact on their lives." While law school is still "in the cards" for Roach, they're excited for whatever the future holds. One such opportunity that's come their way was landing a gig hosting "The Backbench" on Canadaland media.

In December 2021, Sam Buttrey, an associate professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, became the first-ever "Jeopardy! Professors Tournament" champion, winning the $100,000 grand prize. "This has been the greatest time, and to come out ahead of all these other great players is something I'll remember forever," Sam said in an interview for the show.

Winning this tournament guaranteed Buttrey a spot in the next "Tournament of Champions," where he placed third. Then, in May 2023, he competed in "Jeopardy! Masters," coming in sixth place and taking home another $50,000. He also left with the friends he made from both tournaments. "I made genuine friends, and that's rare enough in the world," Buttrey said in an interview for the U.S. Navy.

Additionally, the professor's quick wit and resemblance to comedian Steve Martin got him noticed by media outlets and even the comedian himself. "So great to split the prize money with Sam!" Martin joked on Twitter. Of the entire experience, Buttrey later said, "This instant internet-era fame has been a little weird and a little fun — I don't expect to experience anything like this again."

Ryan Long, a single father and rideshare driver from Philadelphia, had had a number of odd jobs and titles over the years, and now he can add "Jeopardy!" champion" to that list. In Long's 2022 "Jeopardy!" run, he won 16 consecutive games and earned over $300,000. 

In September 2022, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney honored Long for becoming the top "Jeopardy!" player from Philadelphia. As for how he spent his winnings? "I stuck some money aside, [I] bought a truck. And the rest is none of your beeswax," he told 6ABC. "I have been pushing myself for so long working, that now I have time to uncoil the stress I have been carrying around for twenty years." The champ and his son also appeared at the city's annual 6ABC Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Long was later a guest on the NPR podcast "Through the Looking Glass."

Long applied for "Jeopardy!" in September 2020, though he'd previously signed up and failed to compete. Between his audition and show appearance, Long became very ill from COVID-19. He shared with "Jeopardy!" that recovering from his near-death experience "taught [him] not to take anything for granted" and "relit a fire in [him] that [he'd] thought had gone out a long time ago." He added, "With the help of a lot of people, I managed to achieve a big [dream]. For that, I am forever grateful."

A year after Ken Jennings' historic "Jeopardy!" win, David Madden became the show's next big winner. In 2005, the Princeton University grad won $432,400 across 19 consecutive games. His all-time winnings put him at $763,733 and afforded him the opportunity to embark on an 8-month, 2,600-mile, cross-country hiking trip to raise awareness for the Fisher House Foundation, which helps provide affordable housing options for veterans and their families. "It's been a great adventure and to be able to do it for a great charity makes it that much better," Madden said in an interview with the show.

These days, Madden is the founder and executive director of International Academic Competitions, an opportunity he was afforded, in part, thanks to his time on "Jeopardy!". He explained in a 2018 feature, "In the wake of 'Jeopardy!,' I founded the National History Bee and National History Bowl, two history-themed quiz tournaments, which hundreds of thousands of students in the USA have taken part in." Additionally, Madden launched several other events including the National Science Bee, U.S. Geography Olympiad, International History Olympiad, and U.S. Academic Bee and Bowl. "My 'Jeopardy!' winnings provided the seed money and the impetus to get back involved in academic competition," he explained. "I cannot thank the show enough for that, as this truly is my dream job."

Matt Jackson decided to apply for a spot on "Jeopardy!" after a friend placed second in the College Championship in 2010 and encouraged him. While he did not advance after taking the college online test twice, in 2014, Jackson took the adult online test and made it to the in-person auditions. The rest, as they say, is history.

In 2015, the paralegal — who is also the son of a federal judge — racked up an impressive $411,612. Jackson went on to earn another $200,000 in tournament winnings.

In 2018, Jackson shared his own "J! Effect" story with the show, which included a wealth of speaking opportunities. "I was invited back to my high school to speak to the current kids, many of whom apparently worshipped me during my 'Jeopardy!' run," he said. "I also got invited to speak to D.C.'s District Court and Court of Appeals judges for their lunchtime speaker series."

In 2014, Julia Collins won 20 consecutive "Jeopardy!" games, putting her total winnings at $428,100. Until Amy Schneider's historic win in 2022, Collins had been the female "Jeopardy!" contestant with the most consecutive games won. Schneider even honored Collins during her own "Jeopardy!" reign by wearing a sweater, which, she explained on the show, "was kind of her thing. Kind of in tribute."

In 2018, Collins told "Jeopardy!" about the "unconventional opportunities" the show afforded her. "I've been able to take some time off from the corporate world," she said, explaining that her winnings enabled her to travel, volunteer, and run a website focused on women and their career paths. "My 'Jeopardy!' winnings created the unusual confluence of time and money, and I wanted to take advantage of that and do something memorable," she shared in another interview for "Jeopardy!" This also included a month-long dream vacation to France, where she visited museums and took baking classes.