New ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ Winner Eager to Celebrate

In an impressive display on this season’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Ike Barinholtz grabbed the $1 million prize alongside his father, Alan Barinholtz. Since this was the celebrity edition of the show, the winnings were directed to charity. However, Ike also secured significant bragging rights, promising to use them to playfully taunt some of his competitors.

Ike shared his thoughts on achieving this milestone.

After securing the $1 million prize for charity with his dad, Ike had a lot to say, particularly aimed at his friends who also participated this season. Notable names include Mindy Kaling, B.J. Novak, and Nick Kroll.

The episode featuring Ike, which aired on August 14, saw him teamed with his dad to clinch the win. He mentioned they’d been preparing for this moment for years and weren’t about to let it slip away. Ike revealed that his family has always been very focused on trivia.

“Our whole life has been a trivia night,” he stated. “Whether it was when we were little playing Trivial Pursuit, or watching almost every episode of Jeopardy! and hundreds of episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”

They were playing to fund an American Sign Language (ASL) program at Los Encinos School, where their nephew and grandson, Dezi, is a student.

Ike is the first celebrity this season to win $1 million for their chosen charity. He expressed excitement for Mindy Kaling, his co-star in The Mindy Project, to see the episode. Although she asked him how he did, he humorously downplayed it by saying it was “fine.”

In addition to Mindy, Ike is eager to hear B.J. Novak’s reaction. He referred to Novak as a “trivia head” as well. Other individuals he’s curious to hear from include Brendan Hunt and Patton Oswalt, who were his competitors on Celebrity Jeopardy!. Ike previously won $1 million on that show for Pacific Clinics and was a semifinalist in the 2024 Tournament of Champions.

Despite all the excitement, Ike didn’t miss a chance for some playful rivalry. This season’s first episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire featured Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, who lost on a Succession question. Ike couldn’t resist jokingly addressing Kroll by saying, “Suck it, Kroll!” and clarified he was only kidding.

Your thoughts on Ike Barinholtz’s big win on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire are welcome in the comments below.

Source: PEOPLE