Ken Jennings addresses conspiracy theory he purposely lost ‘Jeopardy!’

Now host of the game show, Jennings went home with $2.5 million after 74-game win streak came to an end in 2004

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Published Apr 17, 2026  •  Last updated 5 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

'Jeopardy!' host Ken Jennings Photo by Maarten De Boer /Disney

Ken Jennings has finally spoken out on a longstanding rumour that he purposely lost his final game of Jeopardy! back in 2004.

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Now the host of the long-running quiz show, Jennings was in the midst of a 74-game winning streak more than 20 years ago when he was sent home during ‘Final Jeopardy!’ Throughout his headline-making five-month run, Jennings racked up more than $2.5 million in prize money, but he came undone after flubbing a ‘Business & Industry’ question.

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“Here is the clue, ladies and gentlemen,” then host Alex Trebek said, introducing the question, which was: “Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year.”

Nancy Zerg wrote down her response quickly and got the answer right: “What is H&R Block?”

But Jennings guessed incorrectly, responding, “What is FedEx?” and winding up in second place and being sent home.

‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek poses with Ken Jennings in 2004. Photo by Jeopardy! Productions

“Nancy Zerg, congratulations. You are indeed a giant killer,” Trebek exclaimed. “Ken, take a look at the audience. The audience is paying tribute to not only Nancy, but to you as well. All good things have to come to an end … Too bad for Ken, but he’s going home with a lot of money — $2.5 million dollars. Congratulations, young man.”

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Questions over Jennings’ loss have lingered for decades

Over the years, Jennings has been dogged by one conspiracy theory that he lost the game on purpose. Some viewers thought it was impossible that he wouldn’t know which firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees only work four months out of the year.

But Jennings set the record straight this week during an appearance on the Inside Jeopardy podcast in which he fielded questions from the audience.

“This question has been haunting me for 20 years,” one audience member said. “Did you really not know the answer to the last ‘Final Jeopardy’ question on your 74th episode?”

“For 20 years, this gentleman has been thinking I took a dive,” Jennings laughingly replied. “You’re like, ‘H&R Block, he must have known.'”

Jennings then quashed the rumour by posing a question. “Have you ever willingly quit a job where you were making $70,000 an hour?”

“I thought you were getting bored,” the fan responded.

“Getting bored? Getting bored, no,” Jennings fired back. “I think people who ask me this question usually just want to say one thing, which is, ‘Ken I knew it was H&R Block.'”

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Looking back, even though Jennings said he was familiar with the company, he didn’t think he would have gotten the correct answer if he had been given more time.

“As it turned out, it was a clue about H&R Block, the tax prep company … I think I could have thought about that one all day, and I would not have figured out that was H&R Block,” Jennings said. “That’s kind of how these long runs go — they always seem inevitable until a few things happen, and then suddenly, they’re not so inevitable anymore.”

In 2018, Trebek called Jennings one of his all-time favourite contestants.

“When Ken finally lost after 74 games, that was a sad moment for me,” Trebek told PEOPLE at the time. “I shed a tear, just because this marvellous streak had suddenly come to an end. And it’ll never be matched. Nobody will do it. That was the perfect wave.”

Latest ‘Jeopardy!’ champ riding a hot streak

Jennings’ win streak and financial haul have remained untouched. In 2020, he cemented his stature on the show when he won the show’s “Greatest of All Time” tourney.

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But this month, current champ Jamie Ding tied Jennings’ record of answering 45 clues in a row.

Jamie Ding is currently riding a 25-game winning streak on ‘Jeopardy!’ Photo by Jeopardy! Productions

Ding, a New Jersey student, has now won 25 games in a row, becoming the first contestant since 2022 to win more than 20 games and moving into fifth place on the all-time consecutive victory list.

Back in March, Jennings asked Ding what his goal was.

“Eh, $8 billion is probably too high,” he replied.

“Will you retire undefeated at like $7,999,000?” Jennings asked.

“Let’s shoot for that,” Ding laughed.

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