Top Prize Winners

"Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" has had several Top Prize winners from across the world. All of the following list successfully answered all questions correctly and won the top prize available. This list gives all of these players in chronological order of their win.

1999 Winners

 * John Carpenter won $1,000,000 on November 19, 1999. He was the first winner worldwide. Famous for going through the whole stack without using any of his three lifelines, apart from to call his father Tom on the Million Dollar Question to tell him that he was going to win the million dollars, which he did.

John later reappeared on the show as part of the Champions Edition of WWTBAM, and this time he won $250,000.

2000 Winners

 * Dan Blonsky won $1,000,000 on January 18, 2000. Second US winner. His question is regarded by some people as the easiest Million Dollar Question ever faced by a contestant.


 * David Paterson won 1,000,000 South African Rand on March 19, 2000. First winner outside of the USA. Only South African winner.
 * Joe Trela - third U.S. winner of the show. Famously used all of his three lifelines by the $32,000 question, but still went on to win the Million.


 * Renata Morgado won 50,000,000 escudos in May 2000. First worldwide female winner, and first European winner.
 * Enrique Chicote won 50,000,000 pesetas on May 21, 2000. First Spanish winner. Much like John Carpenter, he used his Phone A Friend lifeline on the final question to tell his wife that he was going to win the top prize.


 * Bob House won $1,000,000 on June 13th, 2000.


 * Kim Hunt won $1,000,000 on July 6th, 2000. Was one of the tied contestants in Fastest Finger First.


 * David Goodman won $1,000,000 on July 11 2000. First contestant since John Carpenter to go through the first 14 questions without using a lifeline. Used all three on the final question.


 * Yasuyuki Kunimitsu won ¥10,000,000 on July 27, 2000. First Japanese Winner.
 * Izhar Nevo won on August 7, 2000. First Israeli winner.
 * Yoshiaki Nagata won ¥10,000,000 on August 10, 2000. Second Japanese winner.
 * Ana Damásio won 50,000,000 escudos in September 2000. Second Portugese Winner.
 * Frédéric Grégoire won 4,000,000 french francs on September 30, 2000. First French winner.
 * Ingrid Vervaeck won BEF20,000,000 on October 10, 2000. First Belgian Winner.
 * Harshvardhan Navathe: First Indian winner. Won 10,000,000 rupees on October 19, 2000.


 * Naoko Imao: Third Japanese winner. Won ¥10,000,000 on November 2, 2000.
 * Louis won 4,000,000 french  francs on November 4, 2000. Second French winner before on 1 January 2002 Euro comes.
 * Judith Keppel: First UK winner, won £1,000,000 on November 20th 2000. Due to currency exchange rates and inflation, her win is the highest to date, due to the pound's strength at the time. Judith now stars as an Egghead on the BBC2 show "Eggheads" along with several other former Millionaire contestants, including Pat Gibson, the shows 4th winner.


 * Hiroshi Hase: Fourth Japanese Winner. Won ¥10,000,000 on November 23, 2000. Was a former professional wrestler.
 * Eckhard Freise won 1,000,000 DM on December 2, 2000. First German winner.

2001 Winners

 * Hans Peters won NLG 1,000,000 on January 6, 2001. First and only Dutch winner.
 * Kazuyuki Nose won ¥10,000,000 on February 15, 2001.


 * Anton Sutterlüty won ATS 10,000,000 on February 19, 2001. First Austrian winner.
 * Igor Sazeyev won 1,000,000 rubles on March 12, 2001. First Russian winner.
 * Francesca Cinelli won €1,000,000,000 on March 18, 2001. First Italian winner.
 * Kevin Olmstead won $2,180,000 on April 10, 2001.


 * Mihai Popa won 1,000,000,000 lei on April 15, 2001. First Romanian winner.
 * Bernie Cullen won $1,000,000 on April 15, 2001.


 * David Edwards won £1,000,000 on April 21, 2001.


 * Vijay Raul and Arundhati won 10,000,000 rupes on May 2, 2001.
 * Ravi Saini won 10,000,000 rupes on May 14, 2001.


 * Marlene Grabherr won DM 1,000,000 on May 20, 2001.
 * James Wong and Petrina Fung won HK$1,000,000 on July 15, 2001. First Hong Kong celebrity winners.
 * Stephen Chow and Lee Man won HK$1,000,000 on August 20, 2001.
 * Kotaro Kobayashi won ¥1,000,000 on September 6, 2001.
 * Katsuhiro Minamigawa: Also won ¥1,000,000 on September 6, 2001.
 * Ed Toutant won $1,860,000 on September 7, 2001.


 * Robert Brydges won £1,000,000 on September 29, 2001.


 * Giorgios Georgopoulos won ₯ 50,000,000 on October 2, 2001. First Greek winner.
 * Søren Brøndum Laursen won 1,000,000 kr on October 13, 2001. First Danish winner.
 * Chan Hon-cheung won HK$1,000,000 on November 2, 2001.
 * Khaled al Mulla won 1,000,000 SR on November 21, 2001. First Arabic winner
 * Hitomi Sakamoto won ¥10,000,000 on December 13, 2001.

2002 Winners

 * Mohammad Tanirah won 1,000,000 SR on March 15, 2002.
 * Giovanni Grosso won 100,000,000 Bs on March 20, 2002 making this the first winner in South America.
 * Sveinn Valgeirsson won 5.000.000 on March 24, 2002. First Iceland winner.
 * Tudor Hurezeanu won 1,000,000,000 lei on April 8, 2002.
 * Saule Akhmetova won 5,000,000 tenge on April 25, 2002. First Kazakhstan winner.
 * Antonio Ríos won 100,000,000 Bs on May 22, 2002.
 * Akishi Kikuchi won ¥10,000,000 on June 27, 2002
 * Michiko Eguchi won ¥10,000,000 on August 1, 2002.
 * Gonzalo Miranda won CLP$100,000,000 on September 9, 2002. First and only Chile winner.
 * Anders and Peter Lund Madsens won 1,000,000 kr on September 17, 2002.
 * Gerhard Krammer won €1,000,000 on October 18, 2002.
 * Juan Dario Jaramillo won COP$210,000,000 on October 28, 2002.
 * Christiane de Piero won €1,000,000 on November 11, 2002.
 * Naomi Osada won ¥10,000,000 on November 14, 2002.
 * Maria Fernanda Compte won $25,000 on November 24, 2002.
 * Elita Rumpe won 10,000 Lati on December 18, 2002.
 * Manana Maisuradze won 20,000 Lari around 2002.

2003 Winners

 * Sidi Ahmed weld Ali won 1,000,000 SR on January 2, 2003.
 * Irina Chudinovskih and Yuriy Chudinovskih won 1,000,000 Rubles on January 18, 2003.
 * Cheng Tak-cheung won HK$1,000,000 on February 7, 2003 during the million dollar tournament.
 * Kevin Smith won $1,000,000 on February 18, 2003.


 * Anne Louise Lien and Hans Erik Borgenvik won KR 2,000,000 on March 10, 2003. First Norway winners.


 * Paolo Turchi won 5.000.000 on March 30, 2003.
 * Sergey Karabinsky Won 1.000.000 Moldavian Leu-372.000 Hryvnia on June 06, 2003. First Ukrainian Winner.
 * Irina Stalnaya won 5.000.000 Tenge on April 17, 2003.
 * Sigrid Weiß-Lutz won €1,000,000 on May 9, 2003.
 * Nancy Christy won $1,000,000 on May 9, 2003.


 * Mira Bićanić won 1,000,000 kuna on June 14, 2003. First and only winner in Croatia.
 * Karin Huber won €1,000,000 on November 3, 2003.
 * Stelios Stergiou won €150,000 on November 21, 2003.
 * António Franco won €250,000 on December 29, 2003.

2004 Winners

 * Signe Svendsen and Søren Sko won 1,000,000 kr on January 1, 2004.
 * Tsuyoshi Shinjo won ¥10,000,000 on January 2, 2004.
 * Dr. Maria Wienströer won €1,000,000 on March 29, 2004.
 * Jón Steinar and Hannes Hólmsteinn won 5.000.000 on April 11, 2004.
 * Pat Gibson won £1,000,000 on April 24, 2004.


 * Jaro Leskovsek won SIT 15,000,000 on May 16, 2004.
 * Marie Friedel won €1,000,000 on August 27, 2004.
 * Davide Pavesi won €1,000,000 on October 17, 2004.
 * Eugenio Vargas won 100,000,000 Bs. on December 22, 2004.
 * Takafumi Horie won ¥10,000,000 on December 30, 2004.
 * Kazuko Hosoki also won ¥10,000,000 December 30, 2004.

2005 Winners

 * Elfriede ("El") Awadalla won €1,000,000 on March 14, 2005.
 * Adhi Hartono won Rp. 1,000,000,000 around March 2005.
 * Masaaki Sakai won ¥10,000,000 on April 7, 2005.
 * Yasuo Tanaka also won ¥10,000,000 April 7, 2005.
 * Kikuchi Tomohisa won ¥10,000,000 on April 28, 2005.
 * Masahiko Hamada won ¥10,000,000 on May 26, 2005.
 * Yukiko Kashiwagi and Hanako Oshima also won ¥10,000,000 on May 26, 2005.
 * Viktor Niko won SIT 15,000,000 on July 2005.
 * Rob "Coach" Fulton won AU$1,000,000 on October 17, 2005.


 * Martin Flood won AU$1,000,000 on November 14, 2005.

2006 Winners

 * Per Hörberg won 1,000,000 SEK on February 17, 2006. First Swedish winner.


 * Svetlana Yaroslavtseva won 3,000,000 rubles on February 19, 2006.
 * Gábor Cserey won 40.000.000 Ft on March 20, 2006. First and so far only Hungarian winner.
 * Zulay Marcano won 200,000,000 Bs on March 29, 2006.
 * Heide Gondek won €1,000,000 on September 18, 2006.
 * Ingram Wilcox won £1,000,000 on September 23, 2006.


 * Stefan Lang won €1,000,000 on October 9, 2006.
 * Enrique Carlos Castillo won COP$210,000,000 on October 30, 2006.

2007 Winners

 * Timur Hahn won €1,000,000 on January 8, 2007.
 * Misako Konno won ¥10,000,000 on February 15, 2007.
 * Kenaan Matar won 2,000,000 SR on May 15, 2007.
 * Shōsuke Tanihara won ¥10,000,000 on July 5, 2007.
 * Peter, Helle and Alexander won 1,000,000 KR on October 15, 2007.
 * Julie, Ulrik and Sia won 1,000,000 KR on November 24, 2007.

2008 Winners

 * Torgny Segerstedt won 1,000,000 SEK on March 1, 2008.
 * Joachim, Lukkas and Danie won 1,000,000 kr on March 15, 2008
 * Sumiko Fuji won ¥10,000,000 on March 27, 2008.
 * Kazuo Tokumitsu: Also won ¥10,000,000 on March 27, 2008.
 * Simon Ron Dalsgaard, Emil Aleksej Belinson and Marcus Heinrich Abrahamsen won 1,000,000 kr on May 9, 2008.
 * Oliver Pocher won €1,000,000 on May 30, 2008.
 * Thomas Gottschalk won €1,000,000 on November 20, 2008.

2009 Winners

 * Takeshi Kitano won ¥10,000,000 on January 30, 2009.
 * Hikari Ota won ¥10,000,000 on April 1, 2009.
 * Aroma Ufodike won ₦10,000,000 on September 11, 2009. First Nigerian winner.


 * Sam Murray won $1,000,000 on November 11, 2009 during the Million Dollar Tournament.

2010 Winners

 * Sharon Cuneta won P2,000,000 on January 9, 2010.
 * Bjørn Lien won KR 1,000,000 on January 19, 2010. First winner in the Hot Seat format.


 * Mohammad Hamzeh won SR1,000,000 on March 23, 2010.
 * Krzysztof Wójcik won 1,000,000 zł on March 28, 2010.


 * Timur Budayev won 3,000,000 Rubles on April 17, 2010.
 * Lucía Sánchez won MX$3,000,000 on April 22, 2010. First Mexican winner.
 * Willy Pérez won ₡25,000,000 on June 29, 2010.
 * Mogens Lykketoft and Martin Krasnik won 1,000,000 Danish Krone on October 11, 2010.
 * Ralf Schnoor won €1,000,000 on November 26, 2010.
 * Jan Sundström won 1,000,000 SEK on December 17, 2010.

2011 Winners

 * Michela De Paoli won €1,000,000 on January 27, 2011.


 * Garry Kasparov and Daria Kasparova won 20,000 lari on February 22, 2011.
 * Barbara Schöneberger won €1,000,000 on May 30, 2011.
 * Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao won 10,000,000 rupes on July 8, 2011.
 * Rajesh Singh won 10,000,000 on July 27, 2011.
 * Nadezhda Beldiy won 1,000,000 hryvnia on August 6, 2011.
 * Karl Jonathan Aguilar won P2,000,000 on September 18, 2011.
 * David Huertas won COP$300,000,000 on October 29, 2011.
 * Sushil Kumar won 50,000,000 crore on November 2, 2011.

2012 Winners

 * Mattias Österman won 1,000,000 SEK on March 2, 2012.
 * Paco Reverte won €100,000 on March 15, 2012.
 * Rafael Lira won MX$1,500,000 on April 21, 2002.
 * Lena Angviken won 1,000,000 SEK on September 29, 2012.
 * Charlotte Bircow and Lasse Rimmer won 2,000,000 Kr on October 22, 2012.

2013 Winners

 * Mana Ashida won ¥1,000,000 January 2, 2013.
 * Sanmjeet Kaur Sahan won 5,000,000 crore on January 12, 2013.


 * Apeksha Kumari won 2,000,000 LKR on February 22, 2013.
 * Sebastian Langrock won €1,000,000 on March 11, 2013.
 * Hussain Basha won 10,000,000 Rs on April 29, 2013.
 * Sanooja Rajan won 10,000,000 Rs on May 1, 2013.
 * Eduardo Gaeilo Pajinag, Jr. won P2,000,000 on October 20, 2013.
 * Bari Alibasov and Alexander "Danko" Fadeev won 3,000,000 rubles on November 23, 2013.


 * Mathias Stockinger won €1,000,000 on December 9, 2013.

2014 Winners

 * José Moura won €100,000 on February 7, 2014.
 * Mahadev Jadhav and Anita Jadhav won र10,000,000 on March 17, 2014. 
 * Birgitta Hedström won 1,000,000 SEK on April 11, 2014.


 * Achin and Sarthak Narula won 70,000,000 crore on September 20, 2014. First 7 crore winner.


 * Thorsten Fischer won €1,000,000 on October 17, 2014.


 * Alexandra Pascalidou and Lena Ag won 1,000,000 SEK on November 15, 2014.

2015 Winners

 * Daniel Paske and Jasmin Sharzad won 1,000,000 Kr on March 3, 2015.
 * Nadja Sidikjar won €1,538,450 on November 13, 2015.


 * Leon Windscheid won €1,000,000 on December 7, 2015.

2016 Winners

 * Søren Pilmark and Henrik Koefoed won 1,000,000 Kr on March 6, 2016.
 * Tommy Kenter and Lise Baastrup won 1,000,000 Kr on May 8, 2016.
 * Edwin Daly won AU$1,000,000 on August 29, 2016. First winner after almost 11 years.

2017 Winners

 * Ylva Orrmell won 1,000,000 SEK on February 17, 2017.

Winners Originally, later Stripped Winnings

 * Asen Angelov won 100,000 lev on June 13, 2002 by ineligibility.
 * Lertlak Panchanawaporn won ฿1,000,000 on March 22, 2002 by a computer error.
 * Charles Ingram won £1,000,000 by Diana Ingram and Tecwen Whittock helping him cheat on the last 8 questions on September 18, 2001. His prize was stripped, so that's remains 2 millionaires in UK until 11 days later, Robert Brydges had become the real third millionaire in UK.

Fictional Winners

 * Paul Lassiter won $1,000,000 on November 16, 1999.


 * Jamal Malik won 20,000,000 rupees on Summer 2006.