Wer wird Millionär? (Who will become a millionaire?) is a German game show based on the original British format of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The main goal for is to win €1 million (€2 million in the Zocker-Special episodes; and originally 1 million DM (Deutsche Mark)) by answering 15 multiple-choice questions correctly. It first premiered on September 3, 1999, and was shown on the German TV station RTL. Presented by Günther Jauch.
Filming[]
Filming of the show takes place in the Hürth-Efferen city (studio 7), near Cologne.
Seasons[]
| Series | No. of episodes | Time of broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot | 1 - 4 (4) | 3 - 6 September 1999 |
| 1 | 5 - 26 (22) | 27 January - 10 June 2000 |
| 2 | 27 - 126 (100) | 31 August 2000 - 25 May 2001 |
| 3 | 127 - 226 (100) | 14 September 2001 - 18 May 2002 |
| 4 | 227 - 328 (102) | 9 September 2002 - 24 May 2003 |
| 5 | 329 - 424 (96) | 12 September 2003 - 21 May 2004 |
| 6 | 425 - 499 (75) | 13 September 2004 - 27 May 2005 |
| 7 | 500 - 590 (91) | 10 September 2005 - 29 May 2006 |
| 8 | 591 - 677 (87) | 8 September 2006 - 26 June 2007 |
| 9 | 678 - 747 (70) | 3 September 2007 - 2 June 2008 |
| 10 | 748 - 815 (68) | 25 August 2008 - 25 May 2009 |
| 11 | 816 - 878 (63) | 11 September 2009 - 28 May 2010 |
| 12 | 879 - 955 (77) | 27 August 2010 - 6 June 2011 |
| 13 | 956 - 1024 (69) | 5 September 2011 - 1 June 2012 |
| 14 | 1025 - 1094 (70) | 31 August 2012 - 10 June 2013 |
| 15 | 1095 - 1150 (56) | 26 August 2013 - 26 May 2014 |
| 16 | 1151 - 1202 (52) | 29 August 2014 - 6 July 2015 |
| 17 | 1203 - 1250 (48) | 14 September 2015 - 6 June 2016 |
| 18 | 1251 - 1315 (65) | 29 August 2016 - 29 May 2017 |
| 19 | 1316 - 1356 (40) | 21 August 2017 - 11 June 2018 |
| 20 | 1357 - 1409 (52) | 20 August 2018 - 3 June 2019 |
| 21 | 1410 - 1471 (61) | 2 September 2019 - 1 June 2020 |
| 22 | 1472 - 1526 (54) | 31 August 2020 - 9 August 2021 |
| 23 | 1527 - 1576 (60) | 20 September 2021 - 29 August 2022 |
| 24 | 1577 - 1634 (57) | 5 September 2022 – 29 May 2023 |
| 25 | 1635 - ? (?) | 4 September 2023 - ? |
| Special episodes | ||
| Celebrity (Prominenten) | 42 (47) | first episode: 30 November 2000 |
| Other | 18+ | first episode: 5 January 2001 |
Game's formats[]
Since September 2007, the host offers the contestant two formats of the game:
- Classic format. When choosing the classic format, the contestant has two safe havens (€500 and €16,000) and the three original lifelines.
- Risk format. If a contestant chooses the risk format, they get an additional lifeline (Ask One of the Audience or "Additional Joker"), but only one safe haven (€500).
There were other formats used for certain specials, like the Clock Format used alongside the Highspeed-Special (see below).
Lifelines[]
The show has the following lifelines (varies by game format).
Current lifelines[]
- 50:50
- Phone-a-Friend
- Ask the Audience
- Ask One of the Audience (in risk format only)
Former lifelines[]
- Ask the Millionaires (in risk format only) This lifeline replaced Ask One of the Audience due to coronavirus from 20 April until 1 June 2020.
- Ask A Friend This lifeline replaced Ask the Audience due to coronavirus from 20 April until 1 June 2020.
- Three Wise Men (500th episode only) (after 5th question). This lifeline was available to all contestants of the episode, but the difference was that they were assisted by the first four millionaires.
- Ask the Expert (1,000th episode only)
- Ask the Host (in the Oster-specials only) (only for a chosen question)
- People Speak (offsite shows only)
Money Trees[]
3.09.1999 - 22.12.2001[]
| Question No. |
Correct Answer Value |
Walk Away Value |
Miss Answer Value |
Amount Lost for a Wrong Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 1.000.000 DM | 500.000 DM | 32.000 DM | 468.000 DM |
| 14 | 500.000 DM | 250.000 DM | 218.000 DM | |
| 13 | 250.000 DM | 125.000 DM | 93.000 DM | |
| 12 | 125.000 DM | 64.000 DM | 32.000 DM | |
| 11 | 64.000 DM | 32.000 DM | 0 DM | |
| 10 | 32.000 DM | 16.000 DM | 1.000 DM | 15.000 DM |
| 9 | 16.000 DM | 8.000 DM | 7.000 DM | |
| 8 | 8.000 DM | 4.000 DM | 3.000 DM | |
| 7 | 4.000 DM | 2.000 DM | 1.000 DM | |
| 6 | 2.000 DM | 1.000 DM | 0 DM | |
| 5 | 1.000 DM | 500 DM | 0 DM | 500 DM |
| 4 | 500 DM | 300 DM | 300 DM | |
| 3 | 300 DM | 200 DM | 200 DM | |
| 2 | 200 DM | 100 DM | 100 DM | |
| 1 | 100 DM | 0 DM | 0 DM |
4.01.2002 - present[]
| Question No. |
Correct Answer Value |
Walk Away Value |
Miss Answer Value |
Amount Lost for a Wrong Answer |
Miss Answer Value (risk) |
Amount Lost for a Wrong Answer (risk) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 1.000.000 € | 500.000 € | 16.000 € | 484.000 € | 500 € | 499.500 € |
| 14 | 500.000 € | 125.000 € | 109.000 € | 124.500 € | ||
| 13 | 125.000 € | 64.000 € | 48.000 € | 63.500 € | ||
| 12 | 64.000 € | 32.000 € | 16.000 € | 31.500 € | ||
| 11 | 32.000 € | 16.000 € | 0 € | 15.500 € | ||
| 10 | 16.000 € | 8.000 € | 500 € | 7.500 € | 7.500 € | |
| 9 | 8.000 € | 4.000 € | 3.500 € | 3.500 € | ||
| 8 | 4.000 € | 2.000 € | 1.500 € | 1.500 € | ||
| 7 | 2.000 € | 1.000 € | 500 € | 500 € | ||
| 6 | 1.000 € | 500 € | 0 € | 0 € | ||
| 5 | 500 € | 300 € | 0 € | 300 € | 0 € | 300 € |
| 4 | 300 € | 200 € | 200 € | 200 € | ||
| 3 | 200 € | 100 € | 100 € | 100 € | ||
| 2 | 100 € | 50 € | 50 € | 50 € | ||
| 1 | 50 € | 0 € | 0 € | 0 € |
Specials[]
Prominenten-Special[]
Main Article: Celebrity Specials in Germany
Since November 30, 2000, from time-to-time, special episodes with the appearances of German celebrities go on the air. Unlike regular contestants, they are allowed to appear in the show more than once.
Zweite Chance für Pechvögel Specials + Die zweite Chance[]
Literally meaning Second Chance for the Unlucky and The Second Chance respectively, these specials are reserved for contestants who either went home empty-handed or walked away with a small amount of money, and for those contestants to have a second chance at the million. These specials are the only way for civilian contestants to have more appearances on the hot seat.
On December 23, 2006 (episode 1), 10 empty-handed contestants, Gabi Kuhn, Christian Mauer, Florian Stork, Franz Lauberger, Heinrich Siegrist, Jürgen Neuschwander, Martin Schnelle, Rene Laux, Ute Braunecker and Heiner Keilholz appeared. Five participants (Joachim Dahlhaus, Christopher Kummer, Steffen Burrer, Thomas Jäger, Andreas Lübke) refused to participate in the game for unknown reasons.
On August 29, 2016 (episode 2), more empty-handed contestants including: Sedar Bulat from Berlin, Friedrich-Wilhelm Elstermann von Elster from Mülheim, Daniela Wartini from Vierkirchen, Julian Groenwoldt from Ahrensburg, Johannes Schelle from Tegernsee appeared. Daniela Wartini won €32,000, and Sedar Bulat won €8,000.
On September 2, 2016 (episode 3), more empty-handed contestants Andrej Garn, Anke Christensen and Firat Demirhan appeared. Each of them won €32,000.
On April 4, 2018, nine more contestants appeared. They are: Alexander Siedenbiedel (missed the €32,000 question and left with €500 on December 9, 2013 because the audience gave 56% voted for wrong answer), Aylin Turgay (On May 5, 2014 she missed the 10th question from €8,000 and left with €500 (had 3 lifelines left), Johannes Meinow (On April 25, 2016 he had trusted his Phone-a-Friend, who put him with the wrong answer. He crashed from €16,000 to €500 (had two more lifelines), Karl-Hermann Stein (Loosely, he fought his way through to the €64,000 question on October 14, 2011, entertained the audience with his lifelines, impressed Günther Jauch, but also upset him again and again. Even though he had almost no idea, he strictly refused to take a lifeline. The same at €64,000. He missed and failed back to €500), Michael Hirsch (On September 11, 2017 he could have earned almost €16,000, but went home with €500, although he still had the Phone-a-Friend and Ask the Audience lifelines), Stefan Manthei (He dueled with a lady on the January 15, 2018 for the Klugscheißer-Special to get a seat on the much sought-after hot seat. Unfortunately, the audience decided against him. Later, he tried still as Ask the Audience), Verena Eifler (She crashed on June 10, 2013 from €16,000 to €500 and still had all lifelines), Viktoria Eibenstein (Under her maiden name Seipp, she was in the studio on February 4, 2011 and earned €500) and Katharina Leiber (On September 13, 2013 she fell at the Zocker-Special episode from €8,000 to €1,000).
Then a vote was taken for the contestant for the right to sit in a hot seat. Voting was conducted in three stages (three contestants each). Each of them had its own letters (A, B, C). The one for whom the majority of the audience will vote, has a hot seat and a second chance to earn the top prize. Results of stage 1: A: Viktoria Eibenstein = 51%, B: Aylin Turgay = 26%, C: Alexander Siedenbiedel = 23%. Viktoria Eibenstein won €32,000. Results of stage 2: A: Stefan Manthei = 26%, B: Verena Eifler = 28%, C: Karl-Hermann Stein = 46%. Karl-Hermann Stein won €16,000. Results of stage 3: A: Johannes Meinow = 27%, B: Katharina Leiber = 11%, C: Michael Hirsch = 62%. Michael Hirsch won €32,000.
Zocker-Special[]
Since September 13, 2013, the Zocker-Special (literally Gambler-Special) episodes go on the air. The top prize was €2,000,000. Also, the money tree was changed, with most of the amounts of winnings being doubled compared to the classical format.
| Question No. |
Correct Answer Value |
Walk Away Value |
Miss Answer Value |
Amount Lost for a Wrong Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 2.000.000 € | 750.000 € | 1.000 € | 749.000 € |
| 14 | 750.000 € | 250.000 € | 249.000 € | |
| 13 | 250.000 € | 125.000 € | 124.000 € | |
| 12 | 125.000 € | 64.000 € | 63.000 € | |
| 11 | 64.000 € | 32.000 € | 31.000 € | |
| 10 | 32.000 € | 16.000 € | 15.000 € | |
| 9 | 16.000 € | 8.000 € | 7.000 € | |
| 8 | 8.000 € | 4.000 € | 3.000 € | |
| 7 | 4.000 € | 2.000 € | 1.000 € | |
| 6 | 2.000 € | 1.000 € | 0 € | |
| 5 | 1.000 € | 500 € | 0 € | 500 € |
| 4 | 500 € | 300 € | 300 € | |
| 3 | 300 € | 200 € | 200 € | |
| 2 | 200 € | 100 € | 100 € | |
| 1 | 100 € | 0 € | 0 € |
The contestant had all four lifelines available (50:50, Phone-a-Friend, Ask the Audience and Ask One of the Audience), but only after reaching the amount of €16,000 (9th question). However, the contestant has the right to use one of the lifelines, answering one of the 1st-9th questions, with all the other lifelines considered to be "burned off" and being no longer be available to the contestant during the game. Another difference from the classical format of the game is that in FFF, only 8 contestants appeared. Each episode lasts 90 minutes.
Jackpot-Special[]
The Jackpot-Special special episodes play like normal, but the task is to win a cumulative jackpot (like in the U.S. Primetime version in 2001). At the end of the game, a single participant is chosen to answer a single question, and the rest leave with nothing. On April 20, 2015, Moritz Eckert won €917,600, three went home with nothing. On November 13, 2015, Nadja Sidikjar won the record cash - €1,538,450, two walked away with nothing. It is the biggest winning in German show's history.
Lehrer-Schüler-Special[]
Literally meaning Teacher-Student-Special, in Lehrer-Schüler-Special episodes, a couple, consisting of a teacher and a student, participates. In the audience there is a support group, also consisting of schoolchildren. Total winnings of three couples are €160,000.
Überraschungs-Special[]
In the Überraschungs-Special episodes, the game is played as normal, but during the game the contestants come across various pleasant surprises.
Highspeed-Special[]
Highspeed-Special episodes feature a crossover between the Zocker-Special format and the Clock Format. For the first 10 questions, there is a clock:
- Questions 1-5: 5 seconds,
- Questions 6-10: 20 seconds.
From Question 11 there is no clock. Also, the participant has the right to choose a classic format (three lifelines, two minimum amounts) or a risk format (four lifelines). The Zocker-Spezial moneytree is used.
Chef & Angestellten Special[]
Meaning CEO & Employee Special, Chef & Angestellten Special episodes feature CEOs and randomly chosen employees of a company. The winnings go to the budget of the company.
80er Jahre Special[]
Celebrity specials featuring the "Deutschland 83" TV series cast.
Großes Jubiläums-Special[]
This special episode was the 1,250th episode (May 2016) of the show. 5 players were selected for this episode. Candidates sent their applications to the editorial office of the show.
Sommer-Special[]
The Sommer-Special episodes are aired exclusively in the summer month of the year. These are usually celebrity specials.
Klugscheißer-Special[]
Roughly translates to Know-it-All-Specials, these special episodes are dedicated to the people who "annoy their family and friends" while watching Millionär. They often do not know that they will play.
Undercover-Special[]
Five players for this episode were selected by hidden cameras while showing their knowledge off. Casting took place a few days before filming in the garage box in Bielefeld. Later they got a chance to appear in the show in the classical format. Five contestants are Sebastian Thomsen from Steinhagen, Katja Pollakowski from Bielefeld, Stefan Conrad from Bielefeld, Beatrice Windmöller from Steinhagen and Stefan Bucholt from Bielefeld. Stefan Conrad won €16,000, Stefan Bucholt won €16,000 and Beatrice Windmöller won €64,000.
Winnetou-Special[]
In this episode Winnetou movie cast and crew appeared.
Weihnachts-Special[]
The Weihnachts-Special episodes are Christmas specials.
Publikums-Special[]
On February 27, 2017, another special was aired, called Publikums-Special (literally, Audience-Special). This episode was different from the usual ones, because members of the audience appeared as contestants in the show. In the audience, all the seats are numbered (the sector and the serial number are indicated). The host randomly called the letter of the sector and the number, and the audience members went out to him to compete for the top prize. In total, he selected 8 people for Fastest Finger First: Toni Papenkordt from Paderborn (B73), Silke Schüller from Stolberg (B58), Markus Ecker from Köln (A80), Julia Golanski from Trippstadt (B20), Wolfgang Nisius from Aachen (B29), Martin Yousafzai from Köln (B11), Laura Wendt from Düren (B08) and Angelika Zimmermann from Blankenstein (B33). As result, both Markus Ecker and Toni Papenkordt won €64,000.
Die 3-Millionen-Euro-Woche[]
Die 3-Millionen-Euro-Woche logo
In Series 23, a week of specials were aired with an extra game in a similar vein to the U.S. "Tournament of Ten" in 2009, called Die 3-Millionen-Euro-Woche (literally The 3-Million-Euro Week). Lasting four episodes from Monday 3 to Thursday 6 January 2022, for the first three days, contestants could qualify for the final on Thursday night by winning at least €16,000 on the usual main game and could play the Risk Mode or Classic Mode.
The twist in the special version was that if the contestant qualified and won Fastest Finger First on the Thursday night, they would receive an offer to risk a portion of their winnings by playing a special version of the game with a special, higher-stakes money tree, which had a top prize of €3,000,000, the highest value top prize in Europe. Contestants who took part in the special version could only play under Risk Mode rules.
The weakness in this format became clear, however, when a contestant who won €500,000 in the main game was offered a guaranteed €150,000 to play the €3,000,000 money tree. He declined, explaining that he would have to answer the same amount of questions as in his first game if he were to recover his losses, an issue the format had tried to avoid. In fact, if a contestant got to the final few questions in the usual game and did the same in the €3,000,000 version, they would gain very little money on their original winnings, if any.
After the January episodes proved popular in the ratings, the Die 3-Millionen Euro Woche format was brought back for another run of episodes between 1 and 4 August 2022. That week's Thursday night finale was the most-watched episode of the show since 2016, with 4.4 million viewers.
| Question No. |
Correct Answer Value |
Walk Away Value |
Miss Answer Value |
Amount Lost for a Wrong Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | €3,000,000 | €900,000 | €1,000 | €899,000 |
| 14 | €900,000 | €250,000 | €249,000 | |
| 13 | €250,000 | €100,000 | €99,000 | |
| 12 | €100,000 | €50,000 | €49,000 | |
| 11 | €50,000 | €30,000 | €29,000 | |
| 10 | €30,000 | €20,000 | €19,000 | |
| 9 | €20,000 | €10,000 | €9,000 | |
| 8 | €10,000 | €5,000 | €2,000 | |
| 7 | €5,000 | €2,000 | €1,000 | |
| 6 | €2,000 | €1,000 | €0 | |
| 5 | €1,000 | €500 | €0 | €500 |
| 4 | €500 | €400 | €400 | |
| 3 | €400 | €200 | €200 | |
| 2 | €200 | €100 | €100 | |
| 1 | €100 | €0 | €0 |
Milestone episodes[]
Jubilee episodes (20th Anniversary follow-up episodes)[]
As of 2021, the show has aired 14 jubilee episodes:
- 100th episode (March 17, 2001)
- 200th episode (March 15, 2002)
- 300th episode (March 15, 2003)
- 400th episode (March 20, 2004)
- 500th episode (September 10, 2005)
- 600th episode (October 6, 2006)
- 700th episode (November 26, 2007)
- 800th episode (March 20, 2009)
- 900th episode (November 5, 2010)
- 1,000th episode (February 3, 2012)
- 1,100th episode (September 2, 2013)
- 1,200th episode (June 22, 2015)
- 1,300th episode (March 13, 2017)
- 1,400th episode (May 6, 2019)
- 1,500th episode (June 3, 2021)
These special episodes only show questions from former episodes. In these episodes, only former contestants were in the audience.
10th, 15th and 20th Anniversary Specials[]
On September 11 and 18, 2009 after WWM's jubilee ordinary contestants appeared. Oliver Sh won €500 (9th question wrong), Karola Lünsmann won €32,000, both Michael Schüler and Anna Pröschild also won €32,000, Jennifer Martin won €16,000, Markus Bittmann won €500 (10th question wrong), Rainer Koslowski and Roy Sanders won €32,000. On September 25, 2009, the 10th anniversary episode aired. Celebrities were the contestants. Anke Engelke won €125,000, Hape Kerkeling won €125,000, Marcel Reif won €64,000 and Alice Schwarzer won €500,000.
On October 17, 2014, the 15th anniversary special aired. It lasted 3 hours. In the episode, there was no FFF, and the contestants were selected from the audience, by means of a random numerical combination from 1 to 100. After choosing a contestant, he was asked to answer a question. If he answered correctly, he occupied the contestant's hot seat, and if not, then they chose the next contestant. Participants, who found themselves in the contestant's seat had a unique opportunity that, after reaching the amount of €16,000, they could skip answering the 11th-14th questions, and instead answer the €1,000,000 question directly. The only difference is that after hearing the question, the participant could no longer walk away from the question. If a participant chooses the classic format of the game with 3 lifelines, then he does not lose anything, because there is still the €16000 threshold. But if a participant chooses the risk format of the game with 4 lifelines, he have the €500 threshold only. Before the game, each participant was shown a small movie. Each participant, using the "Phone-a-Friend" lifeline, could phone one of three celebrities and former WWM contestants: Ralf Schnoor, Sonja Zietlow or Wigald Boning. In addition, the episode showed the most interesting moments of all 15 years of the game. Thorsten Fischeram won €1,000,000, Stefanie Endres won €500 (9th question wrong), René Zymierski won €500 (also 9th question wrong), Georges Devalois Yepnang Mouhoutou won €500 (Top Prize question wrong) and Oliver Eberle won €500 (8th question wrong). This is the only episode where the top prize question was shown twice.
On September 2, 2019, a 20th anniversary of German version special episode will be aired. Also, on the night of September 6–7, the Night of Millionaires specials (German: Nacht der Millionäre) was aired, where two Top Prize winners appeared. The broadcast lasted three hours, just like the 15th anniversary of the show. In the runs, only those questions that were heard in the show over the past 20 years will be asked (more than 35,000 questions). In addition, only those people who have ever participated in the quiz will be in the audience (these are about 2,800 contestants who won about €115,000,000, not counting celebrity specials). Replays of three episodes will also be shown, in which Top Prize winner Leon Windscheid appeared.
500th, 1,000th, 1,250th and 1,500th episodes[]
On September 10, 2005, the 500th episode aired. Contestants Ulrich Wick (€16.000 won), Gisela Hillers (€64.000 won), Jutta Büchs (€32.000 won), Matthias Dahmen (€64.000 won) and Katharina Issel (€32.000 won) appeared.
On February 3, 2012, the 1,000th episode of the game was aired. The broadcast lasted 2,5 hours. The episode involved four contestants, each of which was shown a small video. At the end of the episode, one of the contestants, determined by an additional FFF, was asked a €1,000,000 special question, but the contestant decided not to risk his earned amount and walked with the money (with the right answer he would earn the top prize, with the wrong answer he would win the money guaranteed by a threshold). The question was,
| €1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Which of the answers for the 1,000 episodes of the "Wer wird Millionär?" was most often the correct one? | |
| ⬥ A: Spain | ⬥ B: Goethe |
| ⬥ C: Angela Merkel | ⬥ D: Blue |
The right answer was A. Contestants had Ask the Expert as a fifth lifeline. The Experts were three former top prize winners: Barbara Schöneberger, Ralf Schnoor and Oliver Pocher.
On May 30, 2016, the 1,250th episode was aired. Dennis Beul won €16,000, Sharina Schaefer won €32,000, Marc Schneider won €64,000, Ann-Kathrin Romer won €16,000, and Henrik Rose won €0, answered the 10th question wrong. At the very beginning of the episode, the presenter asked the question.
| Special Question | |
| What is the anniversary of Günther Jauch occuring on May 30, 2016? | |
| ⬥ A: 30 years accident-free driving | ⬥ B: Diamond wedding |
| ⬥ C: 100th Anniversary RTL channel | ⬥ D: 1,250th episode of Wer wird Millionär? |
On June 3, 2021, the special program after 1,500th episode aired (really, ordinary 1,500th episode was broadcast on March 29, 2021). In addition to Evelyn Burdecki, guests were people who are particularly related to the show. These were the twin sister of a former contestant, who had dropped from €250,000 to €1,000 in a Zocker-Special, and a contestant who claimed to have applied 160 times without success and who presented some of her applications on the show. The winnings were rounded up to the "schnapps numerals", but top prize is €1,500,000. As in regular episodes, the second safety net is on the 10th question (€33,333 with three lifelines and €15,555 with four lifelines). In addition, some particularly memorable moments from earlier episodes were shown again, including congratulations from several celebrity former contestants such as Horst Lichter and Barbara Schöneberger.
| Question No. | Winnings |
|---|---|
| 15 | €1,500,000 |
| 14 | €555,555 |
| 13 | €133,333 |
| 12 | €77,777 |
| 11 | €55,555 |
| 10 | €15,555 (with 4 lifelines) €33,333 (with 3 lifelines) |
| 9 | €8,888 |
| 8 | €4,444 |
| 7 | €2,222 |
| 6 | €1,111 |
| 5 |
€555 |
| 4 | €111 |
| 3 | €55 |
| 2 | €5 |
| 1 | €1 |
Offsite shows[]
Offsite show in AIDA
In addition to the games held in the studio, for several years the show has also been held periodically outside. All visiting shows take place on the ship AIDAprima (launched in May 2014) and others of AIDA company. These shows were developed by Borris Brandt. Hosted by Stephan Hartmann.
One such show is called "Wer wird Millionär auf AIDA" (AIDAsol, AIDAprima, AIDAluna and AIDAmar). In the hall on the rostrum of the vessel, there are 250 spectator seats numbered from 1 to 250, which have keypads. The host first conducts a FFF (using 1, 2, 3, 4 instead A, B, C, D), as in the studio version, then calls the right order. The Fastest Finger from the audience is invited to play the game. He is invited to the player's hot seat to compete for 1,000,000 points, which are related to various AIDA prizes. The version has no Phone-a-Friend or risk mode, with the third lifeline being Ask One of the Audience.
Merchandise[]
- There is a video game of the show which exists in four versions on PlayStation 1, two version on PlayStation 2, one version on PlayStation 3, six versions on PC, two versions on Wii, two versions on Nintendo DS (which have exactly the same content as the Wii versions) and finally a version for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. In some versions, some old questions from the show are carried over. There are also several versions for Java, iOS and Android mobile phones.
- 6 board games were also created. (classic version, junior, second edition, third edition, junior second edition, and a 20-year anniversary version).
- Two interactive DVD's have also been released. The first edition came out in 2004, and second edition came out in 2005 with a bonus that shows behind the scenes of this DVD.
Parodies[]
Die Harald Schmidt Show (The Harald Schmidt Show)[]
Günther Jauch (talk show)[]
Winners[]
Main Article: Wer wird Millionär?/List of Winners
Trivia[]
- A total of 2,706 contestants in the show appeared (as of June 4, 2018). 173 celebrities appeared since November 30, 2000 (as of June 11, 2018).
- The show debuted on the exact day as Milionerzy. September 3, 1999.
- In the German version's history, 28 contestants went home with nothing, including 5 contestants on the Gambler's Special (as of December 27, 2021). One contestant answered the 1st question wrong (as of June 15, 2015)
- Total winnings in show are €111,583,738 (as of June 4, 2018), €30,714,000 in Prominenten-Specials (as of June 11, 2018), €4,559,000 in Zocker-Specials / Highspeed-Specials (as of May 28, 2018).
- Absolute winning record is €1,538,450, won on November 13, 2015 by Nadja Sidikjar in a Jackpot-Special episode.
- Only 3 contestants used a lifeline on the 1st question (as of March 7, 2014).
- The top prize question was asked 87 times (as of January 11, 2018), 15 contestants answered correct (as of March 24, 2020), 1 was incorrect (as of October 17, 2014). The €2,000,000 question has been asked twice (as of January 10, 2014).
- 41 contestants took €/DM 500,000 (as of January 19, 2018), and 3 contestants took €750,000 (Zocker-Specials) (as of November 28, 2016). 15 contestants won €/DM 1,000,000 (as of March 24, 2020). 29 celebrities took €/DM 500,000 (as of November 18, 2021). 3 celebrities €/DM 1,000,000 won (as of May 30, 2011).
- Peter Kruck is the 2,000th contestant (aired on January 10, 2011), and Benjamin Lüders is the 2,500th contestant (aired on January 4, 2016), who appeared in show.
- In total, the show asked 33,691 questions (as of June 11, 2018). As of March 14, 2011, exactly 25,000 questions were asked.
- In show the lifelines were used 8,210 times (50:50 - 2,491 times, Phone-a-Friend - 2,388 times, Ask the Audience - 2,577 times, Ask One the Audience ("Additional Joker") - 754 times) (as of June 11, 2018).
- The fastest result in the FFF is 1,33 seconds (Anneke Harms in 2008), beating the record of Wolfgang Goebel (3,9 seconds in 2006). Anneke Harms had this FFF question:
| Fastest Finger First Question | |
| Put these words to get the word combinations: Rail, Glasses, Fish, Look. | |
| ⬥ A: Way | ⬥ B: Nickel |
| ⬥ C: Silver | ⬥ D: Rose |
| The right order was A-B-D-C. |
- The oldest contestant is 86-year-old Karlheinz Reher. He also the oldest €125,000 winner (February 10–17, 2014).
- The oldest €500,000 winner is 77-year-old Theodor Köster (February 24, 2012).
- The oldest 'help' from phone-a-friend is 101-year-old Hans von Seggern.
- Luis Meyer on May 16, 2003 won €500 and tried to circumvent the ban on re-participation in the game after 3 years. He on April 10, 2006 under the name Reinhold Schlager again passed absentee qualifying rounds and came to show's studio again as a fictional contestant. He managed to make it into the hot seat again and, this time, win €64,000. However, several vigilant viewers called the editorial office of the show and reported that, the contestant had already participated in the program. After the inspection, the participant was stripped of the winning.
- Peter Kloeppel and Anke Engelke are the only contestants that have advanced to 15th question through all questions.
- Thomas Gottschalk appeared twice on game and was asked the 15th question, first time walking away with 500,000 DM and later on November 20, 2008 he won top-prize.
- Günther Jauch appeared twice on game and was asked 15 questions, walking away with €500,000.
- Anke Engelke is the only contestant who appeared 7 times.
- Tanja Fuß is the only contestant in German version's history who answered the first question wrong and walked away with nothing.
- On March 3, 2008, one of the contestants mistakenly took over the seat of the host. The host was at first confused, but then he took the seat opposite, and even when the participant realized that she had made a mistake, Günther refused to leave his seat, and answered the first 5 questions himself. On November 23, 2008, a similar incident occurred on the show again, however, the host did not sit for long in the contestant's seat.
- On September 25, 2009, a unique case occurred in the game where on the 13th question, Hape Kerkeling used the "Ask the Audience" lifeline, where 89% of the audience voted for the wrong option of B. The celebrity contestant went against the Audience and "phoned a friend" where the friend suggested the right answer, calling for the correct option of A.
- On June 2, 2014, in a Prominenten-Special, the Bundestag member Wolfgang Bosbach decided to phone to Angela Merkel (the German Chancellor) on the €500,000 question, but after two unsuccessful attempts to contact her, Wolfgang decided to walk away with €125,000. Shortly before the end of the episode, Merkel sent Bosbach an SMS message, in which she apologized for not picking up the phone.
- In the German version's history (on December 8, 2006, and on September 13, 2013), two cases are known where the right order of the FFF question answer consisted of ABCD.
- A set of pictures, popular on the Internet, called "Wie heißt George W. Bush mit Vornamen?" with A: Peter, B: Edmund, C: Torgen and D: George. The answer's options are in fact made up in a Photoshop contest.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Das studio (2).jpg (102 KB)")
.png "German second tree without risk 2007(1).png (241 KB)")
.png "German second money tree with risk 2007(2).png (245 KB)")
