Ben Affleck, alongside Jeopardy! champion Jamie Ding, won $1 million on the US version of *Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?*. In the final, the team answered a question about the names of turkeys that are spared ahead of Thanksgiving. They will donate their entire winnings to the Eastern Congo Initiative, which supports residents of the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Briefly about the main points
- Affleck teamed up with Jeopardy! champion Jamie Ding.
- The final question concerned the presidential pardon of turkeys.
- The team made use of a phone call and Jimmy Kimmel’s help.
- The correct answer was ‘Spaghetti & Meatball’.
- $1 million will be donated to the Eastern Congo Initiative.
A crucial tip from Jimmy Kimmel
The episode featuring Affleck and Ding was broadcast on 29 July. In the final, the contestants were asked to identify which of the turkeys’ names had never been used during the traditional presidential pardon ahead of Thanksgiving.
Before answering, they used two lifelines: they rang Ding’s friend and asked the show’s host, Jimmy Kimmel, for help. Kimmel said that every year he does a segment on his show about the pardoning of turkeys. His suggestion — ‘Spaghetti & Meatball’ — turned out to be correct and earned the team the top prize.
Ding came into the game with 31 wins on *Jeopardy!*, where he had earned $885 605. The season premiere aired on ABC on 22 July.
A million for an initiative in eastern Congo
The Eastern Congo Initiative was founded in 2010 by Ben Affleck and Whitney Williams. The foundation supports initiatives developed by local communities and Congolese organisations, particularly in the areas of basic services, economic opportunities and access to justice.
According to ECI, since its inception, the organisation has supported over 144 local partners, provided more than $12 million in direct grants and helped to attract over $14 million in additional investment. The $1 million award represents approximately 8.3% of the historical total of these direct grants; however, this is an arithmetic comparison rather than an assessment of the programmes’ future budget.
The donation comes against the backdrop of a humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to UNHCR estimates, there are 6.9 million internally displaced people in the country, more than 5 million of whom are in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri. According to ECI, in 2024 the projects it supported provided over 400,000 people with access to basic healthcare and supplied more than 100 million litres of clean water.
Winning as a sign of recognition for the work of local communities
Winning a popular American TV show could draw further attention to the needs of the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where armed clashes and human rights abuses are causing population displacement. ECI’s approach is that aid priorities should be determined by the Congolese themselves, who know the needs of their communities.
