Ben Affleck Wins $1M on Millionaire for Congo Charity
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- Ben Affleck and Jeopardy champion Jamie Ding won the $1 million grand prize on ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire during a Wednesday airing, earmarking the winnings for Affleck's nonprofit Eastern Congo Initiative.
- Eastern Congo Initiative is described in the article as the first U.S.-based advocacy and grant-making organization dedicated to supporting the people of eastern Congo.
- The pair burned both lifelines on the final question — their Phone-a-Friend Steven Morrison and Ask-the-Host lifeline Jimmy Kimmel were both unsure — before going with Kimmel's answer, which proved correct.
- The $1 million question asked which multiple-choice option was NOT a name of turkeys pardoned by the U.S. president, with "Spaghetti & Meatball" identified as the correct answer.
- Season 5 of Kimmel-rebooted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire launched last week, with this week's two-part episodes also featuring Jason Alexander, Wayne Knight, Tig Notaro, and Pete Holmes alongside Affleck/Ding and last week's Larry David/Cazzie David pairing.
Why it matters: The $1 million prize flows directly to the Eastern Congo Initiative, which the article identifies as the only U.S.-based advocacy and grant-making organization focused on eastern Congo, giving the relatively small nonprofit a seven-figure fundraising windfall. Affleck's celebrity draw also gives ABC's rebooted Millionaire — now in Season 5 under host Kimmel — a high-profile pairing (two-time Oscar winner plus a Jeopardy champion) to anchor its season premiere ratings.
