Brad Rutter facts for kids

Bradford Gates Rutter (born January 31, 1978) is an American game show contestant, TV host, producer, and actor. He has won over $5.1 million, making him one of the highest-earning game show contestants ever! Brad is especially famous for winning the most money on the TV show Jeopardy!, mostly from special tournaments.

Before the Greatest of All Time Tournament in 2020, Brad Rutter had an amazing streak. He had never lost a Jeopardy! game against another person. This included his first five-day winning run in 2000, and 17 matches in five different tournaments. He won all of them! In the 2020 tournament, he finished third, which was his first loss against human opponents.

Brad Rutter's Early Life

Brad Rutter went to Manheim Township High School in Neffsville, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1995. While there, he was part of the quiz bowl team. His team even won second place at a big national championship in 1994. Brad is one of only 19 people to be named to the National Academic Championship Hall of Fame.

At his high school graduation in 2005, Brad announced a scholarship fund. This fund was created to remember his late quiz bowl coach, Anne Clouser. Brad has said he wasn't always the best student and he dropped out of Johns Hopkins University. He studied English there. Before he became famous on Jeopardy!, Brad worked at a record store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Brad Rutter's Jeopardy! Success

Brad Rutter first appeared on Jeopardy! on October 30, 2000. Back then, if a contestant won five days in a row, they would retire undefeated. They were also guaranteed a spot in the Tournament of Champions. Brad became an undefeated five-day champion, winning $55,102. He also won two Chevrolet Camaro cars! The rules changed in 2003, before Ken Jennings' long winning streak.

Winning Jeopardy! Tournaments

Because he was a five-day champion, Brad was invited to the 2001 Tournament of Champions. He won the main prize of $100,000. He was then invited back for the 2002 Million Dollar Masters Tournament. Brad won this tournament too, taking home $1,000,000! This made him the biggest money winner in Jeopardy! history at the time.

Brad returned again for the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions. He won this tournament as well, earning $2,115,000. After this win, he beat Ken Jennings and became the highest money-winner ever on American game shows. Ken Jennings later took back this record in 2008.

Man vs. Machine: The IBM Challenge

From February 14–16, 2011, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings faced a supercomputer named IBM's Watson. This was called the Jeopardy! IBM Challenge. It was the first time a human played against a machine on Jeopardy!. Watson, the computer, won easily with a score of $77,147. Ken Jennings came in second with $24,000, and Brad Rutter was third with $21,600.

IBM gave its $1 million prize to charities. Brad and Ken also donated half of their winnings to charity. Brad gave $100,000 to the Lancaster County Community Foundation. Since this was an exhibition match, these winnings and losses didn't count toward their official records.

More Tournament Wins

Brad Rutter also played in the Jeopardy! 2014 Battle of the Decades. This tournament brought together top champions from the past 30 years. Brad won his first game on March 7, 2014. He then won his quarterfinal game on May 7, 2014, and his semifinal game on May 13, 2014.

On May 16, 2014, Brad won the entire tournament and $1,000,000! He beat Ken Jennings and Roger Craig in the final. With this win, Brad once again became the highest money-winner on American game shows.

In 2019, Brad teamed up with other Jeopardy! champions, Larissa Kelly and Dave Madden. They won the Jeopardy! All-Star Games. Brad was the team captain, and they shared the top prize of $1,000,000.

Brad competed in the Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time event in January 2020. He played against Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer. Brad finished in third place and won $250,000.

Other Game Show Appearances

Brad Rutter has appeared on other game shows too. He was on 1 vs. 100 in 2006. He answered every question correctly for a while! He also competed in Grand Slam and the 2010 World Quizzing Championship.

In 2011, Brad was a contestant on Million Dollar Mind Game. His team won $600,000! In 2012, he filmed a pilot episode for an American version of the British game show The Chase. Later, in 2020, Brad became one of the "Chasers" for the ABC revival of The Chase, along with Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer.

In May 2020, Brad appeared on a new version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He was an expert helper for celebrity contestant Catherine O'Hara. Brad helped her answer the first 10 questions correctly. She even used him again for a harder question! Thanks to Brad's help, Catherine O'Hara won $250,000 for charity.

Brad Rutter's Personal Life

Until 2009, Brad Rutter lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There, he hosted a local quiz show for high school students called InQuizitive. He also helped out as a reader and judge for the high school National Academic Championship. Now, Brad lives in Los Angeles, where he is working on acting.

Brad is a big fan of the Philadelphia Eagles football team. During the Final Jeopardy! round of the Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time Tournament in 2020, he showed his team spirit. He wagered points that referenced the final score of Super Bowl LII, where the Eagles won their first Super Bowl!

See also

• American game show winnings records
• List of notable Jeopardy! contestants
• Strategies and skills of Jeopardy! champions