Ben Affleck wins $1 million for Eastern Congo Initiative

Ben Affleck won $1 million on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” directing the ABC game-show prize to the Eastern Congo Initiative.

The actor, director and writer reached the top prize on Wednesday’s episode with Jamie Ding, a “Jeopardy!” champion who joined him as his partner. The money is set to go to the nonprofit Affleck co-founded in 2010 to support communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A final turkey question

The winning moment came after a final question about turkeys pardoned by U.S. presidents, with the pair asked to identify names that did not fit the tradition. Ding proposed the answer “Spaghetti and Meatball,” and Affleck agreed before the show confirmed they were correct.

The pause before the result gave the moment its tension. Once the correct-answer chime sounded, Affleck and Ding jumped from their seats and hugged, turning a celebrity game-show appearance into a seven-figure charity award.

Jimmy Kimmel hosted the episode, which placed Affleck among a recent run of high-profile contestants using the format to raise money for nonprofit groups. The source did not state when the episode was taped, only that it aired Wednesday.

Ding brought trivia depth

Affleck’s partner carried unusual credentials for a charity contestant. Ding previously recorded a 31-game streak on “Jeopardy!,” a run described in the source as fifth on the show’s all-time winners list.

Ken Jennings, the current host of “Jeopardy!,” remains at the top of that consecutive-win ranking with 74 victories, according to the supplied report. That background mattered because the final question required elimination and recall rather than celebrity instinct.

The pairing also mirrored a path taken by Affleck’s longtime friend Matt Damon. Damon won $1 million on the same game show a year earlier, playing with Jennings and directing the prize to Water.org, his own charity.

Congo nonprofit gets the prize

The Eastern Congo Initiative gives the win a policy and humanitarian dimension beyond television. Affleck co-founded the organization in 2010, and he said on the program that he has worked with it for 15 years.

On the show, Affleck connected the appearance to public-health needs in Congo. “And right now, of course, as I’m sure most people know, there’s an Ebola crisis there,” he said, adding that the effort was “in large part designed to try to relieve that, contain the spread of Ebola.”

Those remarks framed the prize as emergency support as well as long-term backing for local communities. The supplied source did not provide financial details about the nonprofit, the scale of its programs or how the game-show funds will be allocated.

The episode aired shortly after separate family news involving Affleck. His mother, Christopher Affleck, known as Chris, died on June 2 after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, according to an obituary published last week.

The obituary said her greatest wish was to attend her grandson’s high school graduation, which she did two days before her death. That timing gave the televised win an added personal backdrop, though the charity prize itself was tied to Affleck’s Congo work.

The next measurable step is how the Eastern Congo Initiative deploys the $1 million and whether it specifies programs connected to health response or community support. For the entertainment industry, the episode reinforces how celebrity game-show appearances can convert audience attention into direct nonprofit funding when a major prize is reached.