I think it’s safe to assume that everyone knows who James Holzhauer is by now, but just in case anyone has somehow never heard of him, here’s a quick rundown on why he’s been making headlines.
James Holzhauer is the current reigning ‘Jeopardy’ champion, having scored an incredible 32 consecutive wins to earn him $2,462,216 in prize money.
He’s quickly closing in on previous record-holder Ken Jennings’ title.
According to USA Today , Holzhauer is just one dominant game away from surpassing Jennings’ non-tournament record of $$2,520,700.
If he wins over $$58,485 in his next game, Holzhauer steals the title.
$58,485 may sound like an impossible amount of money to win in one game, but Holzhauer has done it before.
On Friday night he walked away from his latest win with $79,633. And that’s not even the most he’s ever won.
He actually set a single-day record for the quiz show on April 17 after earning a whopping $131,127 for the win.
So yeah, I think $58,485 might be doable for him.
Jennings and Holzhauer have the distinction of being the only two ‘Jeopardy’ contestants in history to win $2 million or more.
That’s $2 million or more in regular non-tournament play, by the way.
So with all this money coming in on a regular basis, what exactly is Holzhauer doing with it all?
As it turns out, he’s actually been incredibly generous with his winnings.
According to CNN , the quiz show champ and his wife, Melissa, have been using his incredible earnings to donate to some charities around their home of Las Vegas.
Earlier this month, the couple donated $10,000 to Project 150, a charity that helps local homeless students.
According to its website , these students are provided with clothes, school supplies, and meals in order to help the youth “continue school and be successful in life”.
The Holzhauers also donated some of that ‘Jeopardy’ money to the Ronald McDonald House in Las Vegas.
In a video posted to its Facebook page, a man can be seen reading off a large card, “This Las Vegas resident supports families in medical crisis.”
Workers from the charity then respond in unison, “Who is James Holzhauer?”
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But that’s not where the Holzhauer couple stopped with their charitable givings.
Last month they reportedly donated $10,000 to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. The development director for the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and Foundation has also come forward to confirm that that the Holzhauers had donated $10,000 to them as well.
Now they’ve donated $10,000 to an educational charity in Nevada.
According to their website, Communities in Schools of Nevada works to help prevent students from dropping out of school by “surrounding students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.”
On their Facebook page, the non-profit thanked the generous couple with a post that reads, “They are truly #AllInForKids and we are so grateful for their support!”
h/t: CNN
