Wer wird Millionär? is a German game show based on the original British format Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. It is shown on RTL on Mondays at 20:15, hosted by Günther Jauch. The show has broadcast continuously since 3 September 1999 and is one of the longest running versions of Millionaire worldwide.
The main goal of the show is to win €1 million (previously DM 1 million) by answering fifteen multiple-choice questions correctly. Contestants who answer the fifth question correctly are guaranteed to leave with at least €500 and those who answer the tenth question correctly with at least €16,000. Since 2007, contestants have had the option to use the 'Risk' format and replace the second safety net with a fourth lifeline.
Contestants from outside Germany are able to participate if they speak German, with contestants from Austria and Switzerland among previous participants.
Gameplay The game follows the basic international format and uses the original three lifelines of the British version. The German terms for the three lifelines - der fünfzig-fünfzig-Joker (50:50), Telefonjoker (Phone-a-Friend) and Publikumsjoker (Ask the Audience) have been entries in the Duden, the German dictionary, since 2012.
Since 2007, contestants have had a Zusatzjoker ("additional lifeline"), which allows the contestant to ask a member of the audience who thinks they know the answer. They have to sacrifice the second safety net if they wish to take this option. If the member of the audience gives the right answer, they will win €500. The contestant can follow the chosen person but they don't have to. If the contestant walks away and does not trust the chosen person but the answer is right, the chosen person will nevertheless win €500 because they got the correct answer.
Money trees Question numberQuestion value (Yellow zones are the guaranteed levels)1999–20012002–presentGamblers' Special(2013–present)1,500th episode(2021)3 Million Euro Week(2022–present)1100 DM (€51.13)€50€100€1€1002200 DM (€102.26)€100€200€5€2003300 DM (€153.39)€200€300€55€4004500 DM (€255.65)€300€500€111€50051,000 DM (€511.29)€500€1,000€555€1,00062,000 DM (€1,022.58)€1,000€2,000€1,111€2,00074,000 DM (€2,045.17)€2,000€4,000€2,222€5,00088,000 DM (€4,090.34)€4,000€8,000€4,444€10,000916,000 DM (€8,180.67)€8,000€16,000€8,888€20,0001032,000 DM (€16,361.34)€16,000€32,000€15,555 (4 lifelines)€33,333 (3 lifelines)€30,0001164,000 DM (€32,722.68)€32,000€64,000€55,555€50,00012125,000 DM (€63,911.49)€64,000€125,000€77,777€100,00013250,000 DM (€127,822.97)€125,000€250,000€133,333€250,00014500,000 DM (€255,645.94)€500,000€750,000€555,555€900,00015 (€511,291.88)
Die 3-Millionen-Euro-Woche Since 2021, each season of the show has had a €3 million week. In this version of the show, five episodes are stripped across a week. For the first four episodes, contestants play the game as normal, but those who win €16,000 or more are invited back to play on the Friday night.
On the Friday night, all the qualifiers from throughout the week are gathered and, starting with the contestant who earned the highest, Jauch will make them an offer of a guaranteed amount to play the game again. If they accept, they play a money tree in which the usual values are roughly doubled and must play the Risk format. Nobody has won the €3,000,000 top prize, with the highest winner being Anja Beyer, from Lampertheim, who won a combined €290,000 on 6 January 2022.
Top-prize winners These are the questions with which people have won the biggest prize.
Eckhard Freise (2 December 2000)
Marlene Grabherr (20 May 2001)
Marlene Grabherr died in 2013 at the age of 60.
Gerhard Krammer (18 October 2002)
Dr. Maria Wienströer (29 March 2004)
Stefan Lang (9 October 2006)
Timur Hahn (8 January 2007) – With the help of his brother as a phoned friend
Oliver Pocher (30 May 2008) (celebrity version) – With the help of 'Ask the Audience'
Thomas Gottschalk (20 November 2008) (celebrity version) – With the help of Marcel-Reich Ranicki as a phoned friend
Ralf Schnoor (26 November 2010) – He phoned a friend but he did not need his help. He told him he would win the million euros. His behaviour was similar to John Carpenter's, the first ever million winner of the entire franchise.
Barbara Schöneberger (30 May 2011) (celebrity edition) – With the help of Pankraz Freiherr von Freyberg as a phoned friend.
Sebastian Langrock (11 March 2013)
Thorsten Fischer (17 October 2014) (15th anniversary) – You could go to the million euro question after reaching question 10 and jump to the €1 Million question. But if you chose this, you could not walk away. Answering incorrectly meant you dropped back to €500. Fischer chose to hear the €1 Million question after reaching question 10 and answered correctly.
Nadja Sidikjar (13 November 2015) (2nd Jackpot special) – In the jackpot special the total number of money increases, with every players' winning total being added to the prize pool. One contestant wins the entire amount; the rest of them go home empty handed. In the 2nd jackpot special there was a head-to-head between two candidates. The first contestant to answer three questions correctly scooped the total prize. Nadja Sidikjar's last question was:
Leon Windscheid (7 December 2015)
Jan Stroh (2 September 2019) (20th anniversary) – Every question Stroh had to answer had already been asked in the past 20 years of the show. He also received four lifelines (Phone A Friend being replaced with a second Ask one of the Audience) and the guaranteed level at €16,000 which is usually disabled when contestants choose the additional Ask one of the Audience. This €1,000,000 question had previously been asked to Hape Kerkeling in 2002.
Ronald Tenholte (24 March 2020)
Top-prize losers
Georges Devalois Yepnang Mouhoutou (17 October 2014) (15th anniversary) – Mouhoutou is currently the only contestant in the German version of the Millionaire franchise who answered the final question incorrectly. He also chose to go for the million after reaching question 10. As he chose to play with all four lifelines and had to answer, he dropped from €1,000,000 to €500. He answered a, but the correct answer is b.
Notes
References
External links