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Los Angeles celebrities win $1 million for charity

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LOS ANGELES — Actor Ben Affleck and Jeopardy! champion Jamie Ding won the $1 million grand prize on ABC’s primetime game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, in an episode that concluded airing on Wednesday, July 30, 2026. The pair competed on behalf of the Eastern Congo Initiative, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Affleck in 2009 that supports community-building programs in eastern Congo, and the full $1 million jackpot is designated for donation to the group. Their run began on the season premiere on July 22, 2026, and they advanced through all 15 questions to reach the top prize. Over the course of the competition, Affleck and Ding used multiple lifelines as the difficulty increased. At the $32,000 level, they relied on the audience to answer a fast-food-related question, and at the $250,000 mark they correctly responded to a question about the Spanish festival El Colacho, with Affleck crediting preparation inspired by his friend Matt Damon’s earlier appearance on the show. In the final episode, they used the 50:50 lifeline to identify “First airplane flight” as the correct response to the $500,000 question about an achievement once deemed unlikely for “1 million to 10 million years.” For the $1 million question on the names of turkeys pardoned by a U.S. president, they turned to the Ask-the-Host lifeline, followed by an unsuccessful Phone-a-Friend attempt, before ultimately accepting Kimmel’s suggestion of “Spaghetti & Meatball” and securing the grand prize.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.

Timeline of Events

On July 22, 2026, Ben Affleck and Ding started competition.
On July 22, 2026, contestants answered early trivia questions successfully.
On July 29, 2026, the duo resumed their game run.
On July 29, 2026, they tackled difficult questions using lifelines.
On July 30, 2026, they successfully answered the final question.
On July 30, 2026, Jimmy Kimmel assisted with winning answer.
On July 30, 2026, the team won one million dollars.
On July 30, 2026, winnings went to Eastern Congo charity.
On August 5, 2026, charitable funds will support community programs.
On September 1, 2026, ABC will air upcoming celebrity episodes.
On November 1, 2026, public interest in game shows peaks.
On January 1, 2027, winners will advocate for philanthropic causes.

News Intelligence

Viewers nationwide celebrated the million dollar charity game show win.
Increased charitable donations will benefit communities in the eastern Congo.
Television audiences, charity foundations, and game show fans nationwide participated.
Readers should prioritize verified entertainment updates from official broadcast networks.