{"id":2225018,"date":"2026-01-06T23:45:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T23:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2225018"},"modified":"2026-01-06T23:45:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T23:45:53","slug":"wheel-of-fortune-how-did-1-million-winners-spend-their-earnings-entertainment-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wheel-of-fortune-how-did-1-million-winners-spend-their-earnings-entertainment-news\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Wheel of Fortune\u2019: How Did $1 Million Winners Spend Their Earnings? | Entertainment News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" false=\"\">\n                                <meta itemprop=\"isAccessibleForFree\" content=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Only five people have won the $1 million grand prize on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/show\/wheel-of-fortune\/\"><em>Wheel of Fortune<\/em><\/a> \u2014 four on the syndicated version and one on the celebrity edition. How did those five winners spend their earnings? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n<p>Although <em>Wheel of Fortune<\/em> premiered in January 1975, the $1 million prize wasn\u2019t introduced until 2008. Typically, the highest prize in the Bonus Round is $100,000. But if a contestant lands on the $1 million wedge during the game, solves that puzzle, doesn\u2019t land on any Bankrupts, and wins the game, the $100,000 envelope is replaced with the $1 million envelope.<\/p>\n<p>It is not a guarantee, as contestants have to not only correctly solve the puzzle, but also land on the $1 million envelope on the wheel.<\/p>\n<p>So, what did those winners do with their earnings? Find out below.<\/p>\n<h2>Michelle Loewenstein<\/h2>\n<p>Michelle Loewenstein, from Santa Monica, California, was the first contestant ever to win the $1 million prize on <em>Wheel of Fortune<\/em>. It happened in 2008, just weeks after the prize was first announced.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Loewenstein had just gotten married and already taken her honeymoon. However, she was able to take a second one when she landed on the $1 million wedge during the prize puzzle, earning a trip to Hawaii.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"On This Day: Michelle Made Wheel History\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MYgEHyaVzMk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>After winning $26,800, she advanced to the Bonus Round, where she picked the \u201cW\u201d in \u201cWin.\u201d She solved \u201cLeaky Faucet\u201d and won the $1 million prize, giving her $1,026,800.<\/p>\n<p>Although that money reimbursed her for her wedding, she told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/malibutimes.com\/article_1f81e04e-720d-5b62-ae7f-b429de28a0a3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Malibu Times<\/a> that she would probably \u201cbuy a house\u201d and \u201chelp out the family\u201d with her winnings. She lives a private life, so not much is known about her now.<\/p>\n<h2>Autumn Erhard<\/h2>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Second Million Dollar Winner! | Wheel of Fortune\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dFfRASXusQo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Autumn Erhard, from Laguna Niguel, California, took home $1,030,340 in 2013 after solving the Bonus Round puzzle \u2014 \u201cTough Workout.\u201d During the game, Erhard obtained the Wild Card, which gave her an extra letter in the Bonus Round. This helped her because the only letter that appeared was the extra one that she guessed, a \u201cG.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?!\u201d then host <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/pat-sajak\/\">Pat Sajak<\/a> yelled after she solved it with only four letters. \u201cHow did you solve that puzzle?\u201d The $1 million was revealed to be in the envelope, and confetti rained down on her.<\/p>\n<p>During her win, Erhard was engaged, so there is no doubt that she used that money for her wedding. She also told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/blogs\/entertainment\/2013\/06\/wheel-of-fortune-1-million-win-felt-like-a-dream\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ABC News<\/a>, \u201cWe definitely want to travel a bit and just kind of prepare for life and kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2014, she told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/wheel-fortune-million-dollar-winner-690186\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, \u201cAs much as a million is, it still doesn\u2019t last forever, so we\u2019re trying to save as much as possible and make it grow. I don\u2019t want to end up on one of those shows about how the lottery ruined my life. We\u2019ve taken a couple of trips but we are not going out fine dining every night. We\u2019re planning our wedding and trying to keep to the budget that we had before.\u201d She had a destination wedding that July. \u201cIt is still life-changing, though!\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Sarah Manchester<\/h2>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Third Million Dollar Winner! | Wheel of Fortune\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zDSETMZ4YEM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>One year later, Sarah Manchester was the third person to take home the $1 million on <em>Wheel of Fortune<\/em>. The math teacher from Silver Springs, Maryland, walked away with $1,017,490. She also won a trip to the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n<p>With only three letters left to guess, Manchester solved \u201cLoud Laughter\u201d within one second. She screamed and put her hands up to her face when Sajak revealed the $1 million.<\/p>\n<p>After her win, Manchester told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Entertainment\/math-teacher-sarah-manchester-wins-big-wheel-fortune\/story?id=25578887\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ABC News<\/a> that they had \u201ca lot of plans\u201d for her winnings. \u201cI\u2019m working on that,\u201d Manchester said. Working as a teacher with three children, the money was sure to come in handy.<\/p>\n<p>Manchester told her local <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7chicago.com\/post\/math-teacher-wins-$1-million-on-wheel-of-fortune\/314306\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ABC affiliate<\/a> that she was going to use the money for her two children\u2019s education and on trips with her family.<\/p>\n<h2>Melissa Joan Hart<\/h2>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Melissa Joan Hart Wins $1 Million For Kids and Families - Celebrity Wheel of Fortune\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cO-12XMVUg0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>In 2021, actress <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/melissa-joan-hart\/\">Melissa Joan Hart<\/a> became the first and only celebrity contestant to win the $1 million. She played against <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/tituss-burgess\/\">Tituss Burgess<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/lacey-chabert\/\">Lacey Chabert<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/show\/celebrity-wheel-of-fortune\/\"><em>Celebrity Wheel of Fortune<\/em><\/a>, the money won goes to the charity of the celebrity\u2019s choosing. Hart chose <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youthvillages.org\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Youth Villages<\/a>, which is a nonprofit organization that helps children across America who struggle with emotional, mental, and behavioral problems.<\/p>\n<p>Hart chose \u201cFood and Drink\u201d for her category. After getting the letters she needed to solve the puzzle, the actress solved \u201cBran Muffins\u201d and took home the grand prize.<\/p>\n<h2>Christina Derevjanik<\/h2>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Our Fifth MILLION DOLLAR WINNER!\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/V3wM2-p2QmE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The fifth contestant to win $1 million on the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/category\/game-shows\/\">game show<\/a> is Christina Derevjanik. She became the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/1218511\/wheel-of-fortune-crowns-biggest-winner-history-1-million\/\">highest-winning contestant<\/a> to date when she took home $1,035,155 in September 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Derevjanik landed on the One Million Wedge during the first puzzle and somehow managed not to lose it. She picked \u201cLiving Things\u201d for her Bonus Round category and quickly solved \u201cPack of Coyotes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first winner during <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/ryan-seacrest\/\">Ryan Seacrest<\/a>\u2018s time hosting told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/1218782\/wheel-of-fortune-1-million-winner-reveals-if-she-quit-her-job-how-she-celebrated\/\">TV Insider<\/a> that she planned to \u201cinvest in a home in the next couple of years. I really think that\u2019s my main priority. I also have a couple of trips coming up that I won from the show \u2014 Montana and Tokyo \u2014 so I\u2019m looking forward to just taking a couple of great trips and enjoying the financial freedom that this now offers me.\u201d Derevjanik, a marketing manager from Connecticut, did return to work shortly after her win.<\/p>\n<p>Who will be the sixth $1 million winner on <em>Wheel of Fortune<\/em>? Only time will tell.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-block\" data-skm-boomerang-el-2=\"processed\">\n<div class=\"post-block\" data-skm-boomerang-el-2=\"processed\">\n<p><strong><em>Wheel of Fortune<\/em>, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>More Headlines:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.wfmz.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Only five people have won the $1 million grand prize on Wheel of Fortune \u2014 four on the syndicated version and one on the celebrity edition. How did those five winners spend their earnings? Read on to find out. Although Wheel of Fortune premiered in January 1975, the $1 million prize wasn\u2019t introduced until 2008. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2225019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[348458,21738,21902,137882,137883],"class_list":["post-2225018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-game-shows","tag-news","tag-ntvb_media","tag-syndicate","tag-syndicate-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/\u2018Wheel-of-Fortune-How-Did-1-Million-Winners-Spend-Their.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2225018"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2225020,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225018\/revisions\/2225020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2225019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2225018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2225018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2225018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}