Wer wird Millionär? is a German game show based on the original British format of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. It is shown on RTL on Mondays and Fridays at 20:15 (CET/CEST). It is hosted by Günther Jauch. The show has been broadcast from 3 September 1999 until today. The main goal of the show is to win €1 million (previously 1 million DM) by answering 15 multiple-choice questions correctly. If contestants get the fifth question correct, they will leave with at least €500. If they get the tenth question correct, they will leave with at least €16,000, unless they enabled the fourth 'lifeline' (added in 2007).

Wer wird Millionär? payout structure

Fourth lifeline ('ask one of the audience')

Since 2007, there has been a fourth lifeline, called Zusatzjoker ("additional lifeline"). It can be added to the three normal lifelines "Ask the Audience" ("Publikumsjoker"), "Fifty-fifty" ("Fünfzig-fünfzig-Joker") and "Phone-a-Friend" ("Telefonjoker"). When using this lifeline, members of the audience who think to know the answer can stand up and one of them can talk to the contestant after being chosen by them. If the member of the audience gives the right answer, they will win €500. The contestant can follow the chosen person but they don't have to. If the contestant walks away and does not trust the chosen person but the answer is right, the chosen person will nevertheless win €500 because they got the correct answer. The contestant can add this lifeline before the game starts, however if one does so, there will be no guaranteed prize sum of €16,000 upon getting the 10th question correctly. If a contestant chooses the fourth lifeline, they can also phone a person in Germany selected at random (extended Phone-a-Friend lifeline). The contestant can say the gender, age and the town of the person which shall be called. Then, RTL calls to see if the person picks up (after 30 seconds, the phone call will be interrupted.) If the person picks up but does not want to help or cannot help, the phone-a-friend lifeline is considered to be played and is not usable anymore. If the phoned person answers correctly, they will get €500. But the extended phone-a-friend lifeline is only usable with the fourth lifeline. It is an alternative to the normal Phone-a-Friend lifeline. If a contestant has used the extended Phone-a-Friend lifeline, they are not allowed to call one of his previously three selected friends.

Top-prize winners

These are the questions with which people have won the biggest prize. Marlene Grabherr died in 2013 at the age of 60.

Top-prize losers