Zeronaires

In everyday slang, a zeronaire (a portmanteau of the words zero and millionaire) is a person who is broke, or has little or no money. In relation to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? a zeronaire is a contestant who wins nothing at all by giving a wrong answer before reaching the first milestone on the Money Tree (usually question 5, although in certain very-high-risk formats, there may by only one adjustable milestone, or even worse, no milestones at all).

Notes:
 * 1: Contestants who left with nothing because they played on a very-high-risk format are noted below.
 * 2: This list only contains contestants who won nothing by giving a wrong answer before the first safe level. It does not contain other contestants who won nothing because they failed to win the Fastest Finger First rounds, and therefore failed to get into the hot seat at all.
 * 3: For contestants who played the Hot Seat format, this list only contains contestants who flunked out within the first 5 questions. Since only the last remaining contestant in the hot seat gets all the money at the end of the episode, the other 5 contestants all go away empty-handed, regardless if they flunked out within the first 5 questions or the next 10 questions.

United Kingdom
Note: This list only contains contestants who won nothing by giving a wrong answer to questions 1-5 (£100-£1,000). It does not contain other contestants who left with nothing because they failed to win the Fastest Finger First rounds, and therefore failed to get into the hot seat at all.


 * John Davidson - £0 (10th January 1999) (5th question wrong)
 * Dave Snaith - £0 (5th March 1999) (5th question wrong)
 * Michelle Simmonds - £0 (17th February 2001) (5th question wrong)
 * Peter and Valiene Tungate - £0 (15th March 2001) (3rd question wrong)
 * Martin Baudrey - £0 (30th November 2002) (5th question wrong)
 * Emma North - £0 (28th December 2002) (5th question wrong)
 * Bill Copland - £0 (3rd April 2004) (5th question wrong)
 * Dave Scholefield - £0 (29th January 2000) (5th question wrong)

Primetime
Note: This list only contains contestants who won nothing by giving a wrong answer to questions 1-5. It does not contain other contestants who left with nothing because they failed to win the Fastest Finger First rounds, and therefore failed to get into the hot seat at all.


 * Robby Roseman - $0 (August 22, 1999) (1st question wrong)
 * Brian Fodera - $0 (January 20, 2000) (1st question wrong)
 * David Gold - $0 (February 10, 2000) (5th question wrong)
 * Steve Fayne - $0 (February 22, 2000) (4th question wrong)
 * Jon Futrell - $0 (March 26, 2000) (2nd question wrong)
 * Allen Kong - $0 (April 6, 2000) (3rd question wrong)
 * Martin Poteralski - $0 (April 30, 2000) (5th question wrong)
 * Jeremy Conklin - $0 (May 11, 2000) (5th question wrong)
 * Karla Robinson - $0 (July 20, 2000) (4th question wrong)
 * Sal Mecca - $0 (January 19, 2001) (5th question wrong)
 * Chris Goldschmidt - $0 (January 25, 2001) (5th question wrong)
 * Stan Wu - $0 (February 21, 2001) (5th question wrong)
 * James Dinan - $0 (April 5, 2001) (4th question wrong)
 * Debby Mittleman - $0 (July 12, 2001) (4th question wrong)
 * Eric Mason - $0 (November 11, 2001) (5th question wrong)
 * Jennifer Starks - $0 (March 7, 2002) (3rd question wrong)
 * Dede Bradley - $0 (February 23-24, 2004) (5th question wrong)
 * Ellen Gaines - $0 (August 16, 2009) (5th question wrong)

Syndicated
Note: Contestants from the shuffle format from 2010-2015 leave with $1,000 after answering incorrectly on any of the first ten questions, even if they had less than that amount on their bank upon answering incorrectly. Contestants from Season 14 onwards who answered incorrectly any of the first five questions are still listed below, despite technically winning a $1,000 consolation prize, which is not mentioned on the show (see the rules page on the official website for more information).


 * Shannon Ross - $0 (September 18, 2002) (4th question wrong)
 * Jana LaSorte - $0 (September 27, 2002) (4th question wrong)
 * Jamie Schuler - $0 (October 4, 2002) (3rd question wrong)
 * Walter Pasuco - $0 (October 10, 2002) (5th question wrong)
 * Scott Humphrey - $0 (October 16, 2002) (5th question wrong)
 * Jennifer Cook - $0 (November 4, 2002) (5th question wrong)
 * Kathy Hempel - $0 (November 25, 2002) (5th question wrong)
 * John Corbett - $0 (January 9, 2003) (4th question wrong)
 * Dana Fingado - $0 (February 3, 2003) (3rd question wrong)
 * Ann Bock - $0 (February 13, 2003) (5th question wrong)
 * Margaret and Marie Wade - $0 (February 20, 2003) (5th question wrong)
 * Jackie Aaron - $0 (February 24, 2003) (4th question wrong)
 * Eric Gates - $0 (March 11, 2003) (5th question wrong)
 * Lisa Achinstein - $0 (April 2, 2003) (1st question wrong)
 * Paul Moore - $0 (April 3, 2003) (5th question wrong)
 * Debbie Wilson - $0 (May 5, 2003) (3rd question wrong)
 * Dariece Oki - $0 (July 16, 2003) (5th question wrong)
 * Justin Kerr - $0 (September 17, 2003) (2nd question wrong)
 * Sarah Seo - $0 (October 10, 2003) (5th question wrong)
 * Cathy Donley - $0 (October 10, 2003) (5th question wrong)
 * Amanda Rising - $0 (October 20, 2003) (2nd question wrong)
 * Anonymous Contestant - $0 (October 27, 2003) (4th question wrong)
 * Dennis Evenson - $0 (November 6, 2003) (5th question wrong)
 * Robert Ryan - $0 (December 3, 2003) (3rd question wrong)
 * Greg Lee - $0 (January 5, 2004) (1st question wrong)
 * Thomas Kole - $0 (January 14, 2004) (4th question wrong)
 * Naeemah Leonard - $0 (April 5, 2004) (3rd question wrong)
 * Fran Barksdale - $0 (April 7, 2004) (5th question wrong)
 * Jackie Jane - $0 (May 19, 2004) (5th question wrong)
 * Jennyfer Wilson - $0 (May 24, 2004) (3rd question wrong)
 * RaQuel Garner - $0 (June 22, 2004) (2nd question wrong)
 * Michael Ridenour - $0 (June 23, 2004) (2nd question wrong)
 * Janie Westfield-McGivney - $0 (September 23, 2004) (5th question wrong)
 * Pete Tittl - $0 (October 8, 2004) (4th question wrong)
 * Dan Metko - $0 (November 30, 2004) (5th question wrong)
 * Tenisha Cornick - $0 (January 21, 2005) (1st question wrong)
 * Molly Sanford - $0 (January 26, 2005) (2nd question wrong)
 * Carol Hess - $0 (April 14, 2005) (5th question wrong)
 * Lynn Eden - $0 (April 21, 2005) (3rd question wrong)
 * Kate Flynn - $0 (May 9, 2005) (4th question wrong)
 * Kevin Mack - $0 (July 7, 2005) (5th question wrong)
 * Drew McCarsky - $0 (October 3, 2005) (4th question wrong)
 * Paul Aquavia - $0 (October 11, 2005) (5th question wrong)
 * Jen Vine - $0 (December 13, 2005) (4th question wrong)
 * Paul Weir Galm - $0 (January 23, 2006) (1st question wrong)
 * Ian Yanong - $0 (February 22, 2006) (3rd question wrong)
 * Chase Sampson - $0 (October 27, 2006) (1st question wrong)
 * Amy Reuther - $0 (December 4, 2006) (5th question wrong)
 * Brian Davis - $0 (December 5, 2006) (5th question wrong)
 * Lorraine Puleo - $0 (January 19, 2007) (2nd question wrong)
 * Phillis Straka - $0 (April 23, 2007) (4th question wrong)
 * Alex Saggiomo - $0 (May 24, 2007) (5th question wrong)
 * Kasey Miklik - $0 (October 12, 2007) (5th question wrong)
 * Frank Lockwood - $0 (November 15, 2007) (3rd question wrong)
 * Phil McQuade - $0 (January 8, 2008) (5th question wrong)
 * Mary Weimer - $0 (January 21, 2008) (4th question wrong)
 * Scott Babbidge - $0 (January 21, 2008) (4th question wrong)
 * Linda Cohen-Schofield - $0 (April 14, 2008) (3rd question wrong)
 * John Petrick - $0 (April 17, 2008) (4th question wrong)
 * Heidi Zimmermann - $0 (May 1, 2008) (4th question wrong)
 * Natalie Habig - $0 (September 22, 2008) (5th question wrong)
 * Barbara Mayhall Hunter - $0 (September 24, 2008) (4th or 5th question wrong)
 * Kevin Baker - $0 (March 3, 2009) (3rd question wrong)
 * Rich Gangel - $0 (March 17, 2009) (3rd question wrong)
 * John-Anthony Cavanagh - $0 (April 14, 2009) (4th question wrong)
 * Stefanie Payne - $0 (May 15, 2009) (3rd question wrong)
 * Debbie Price - $0 (October 12, 2009) (5th question wrong)
 * Tom George - $0 (November 18, 2009) (3rd question wrong)
 * Kevin Brown - $0 (December 7, 2009) (2nd question wrong)
 * Chris Mazza - $0 (December 7, 2009) (1st question wrong)
 * Brandon Adoni - $0 (December 8, 2009) (5th question wrong)
 * John B. Quinn - $0 (December 18, 2009) (5th question wrong)
 * Lovi Yu - $0 (January 19, 2010) (1st question wrong)
 * Sara Bytheway - $0 (January 22, 2010) (3rd question wrong)
 * Nate Jonaitis - $0 (February 4, 2010) (5th question wrong)
 * Jane Dare - $0 (February 11, 2010) (5th question wrong)
 * Chris Ader - $0 (June 21, 2010) (3rd question wrong)
 * Brenton Andreasik - $0 (October 14, 2015) (1st question wrong)
 * Kevin Hyzak - $0 (November 17, 2015) (4th question wrong)
 * Layne Agee - $0 (November 20, 2015) (4th question wrong)
 * Greg Galiazzi - $0 (December 15, 2015) (4th question wrong)
 * Emily Querna - $0 (December 28, 2015) (5th question wrong)
 * Jim Meyer - $0 (December 29, 2015) (5th question wrong)
 * Marvin Forte - $0 (January 8, 2016) (5th question wrong)
 * Michael Parker - $0 (January 29, 2016) (4th question wrong)
 * Carrie Wisehart - $0 (March 3, 2016) (4th question wrong)
 * Jenn Romash - $0 (March 4, 2016) (4th question wrong)
 * Erica Rehbock - $0 (March 17, 2016) (5th question wrong)
 * Kerri Sohn - $0 (April 14, 2016) (2nd question wrong)
 * Scott Moyer - $0 (April 15, 2016) (3rd question wrong)
 * Elle Rose - $0 (April 26, 2016) (4th question wrong)
 * Megan Cox - $0 (September 21, 2016) (5th question wrong)
 * Dave Mundy - $0 (January 19, 2017) (5th question wrong)
 * Gretchen Day - $0 (January 30, 2017) (2nd question wrong)
 * Dante Swinton - $0 (January 31, 2017) (5th question wrong)
 * Scott Sexton - $0 (March 9, 2017) (4th question wrong)
 * Sean Shah - $0 (April 17, 2017) (5th question wrong)
 * Amy Ryan - $0 (May 3, 2017) (4th question wrong)
 * Katrina Ross - $0 (May 10, 2017) (5th question wrong)
 * Lou Castaneda - $0 (May 29, 2017) (5th question wrong)
 * Gili Ronen - $0 (September 25, 2017) (3rd question wrong)
 * Roy Green - $0 (October 23, 2017) (5th question wrong)
 * Aaron Gold - $0 (November 1, 2017) (4th question wrong)
 * Olivia Kaufman - $0 (November 13, 2017) (5th question wrong)
 * Amanda Wylie - $0 (November 17, 2017) (5th question wrong)
 * Evan Bosaczyk - $0 (December 8, 2017) (4th question wrong)
 * Preston Ellis - $0 (February 9, 2018) (5th question wrong)
 * Brett Murray - $0 (March 9, 2018) (5th question wrong)
 * Keith Moser - $0 (May 1, 2018) (5th question wrong)
 * Carin House - $0 (May 4, 2018) (5th question wrong)
 * Todd Morgan - $0 (May 4, 2018) (2nd question wrong)
 * Wyatt Evans - $0 (May 9, 2018) (5th question wrong)
 * Bailey Vogt - $0 (May 11, 2018) (4th question wrong)
 * Margaret Schugt - $0 (May 25, 2018) (5th question wrong)
 * Ellen Portilla - $0 (May 29, 2018) (4th question wrong)
 * Sarah Sanders - $0 (September 11, 2018) (4th question wrong)
 * Sarah Arora - $0 (October 3, 2018) (1st question wrong)
 * Claudia Perry - $0 (October 25, 2018) (4th question wrong)
 * Ben Parker - $0 (November 23, 2018) (5th question wrong)
 * Cameron Russell - $0 (November 26, 2018) (4th question wrong)
 * Tom Pack - $0 (December 3, 2018) (5th question wrong)
 * Jay Malarcher - $0 (December 27, 2018) (5th question wrong)
 * Greg Anderson - $0 (January 9, 2019) (5th question wrong)
 * Brittany Grier - $0 (January 30, 2019) (4th question wrong)
 * Sophia and Casey Quinn - $0 (February 14, 2019) (5th question wrong)
 * Taylor DeRosa - $0 (April 18, 2019) (5th question wrong)
 * Kelsey Hanger - $0 (April 25, 2019) (5th question wrong)
 * Ian Davidson - $0 (May 17, 2019) (2nd question wrong)

Standard format

 * Richard Hatch - AU$0 (October 9, 2000) (4th question wrong)
 * Richard Farrington - AU$0 (November 20, 2000) (5th question wrong)
 * Unknown contestant - AU$0 (2001) (5th question wrong)
 * Unknown contestant - AU$0 (2001-03)
 * Unknown contestant - AU$0 (May 12, 2003)

Hot Seat format
Note: This list only contains contestants who flunked out within the first 5 questions. Since only the last remaining contestant in the hot seat gets all the money at the end of the episode, the other 5 contestants all go away empty-handed, regardless if they flunked out within the first 5 questions or the next 10 questions.


 * Michael "Wippa" Wipfli - AU$0 (January 6, 2013) (4th question wrong)
 * Whitney Beseler - AU$0 (December 16, 2014) (1st question wrong)