Where Is the First ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ Winner John Carpenter Now?

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire crowned its first million-dollar winner, John Carpenter, on Nov. 19, 1999 — just three months after the U.S. game show premiered on ABC on Aug. 19, 1999.

At the time of his appearance, Carpenter was a 31-year-old Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee who had been married to his wife, Deborah “Debbie” Carpenter, for 15 months. He famously secured the $1 million prize by answering 15 questions correctly without using any lifelines until the final question, using the “Phone-a-Friend” to call his father after being asked to name which U.S. president had been on the sketch comedy show Laugh-In.

However, Carpenter wasn’t requesting help — he dialed up his dad to announce that he was about to win the big bucks.

“I didn’t want to seem overly cocky,” Carpenter told PEOPLE of his performance on the show for a December 1999 cover story. “From the first show, I knew just about all the answers. I sort of expected to win the million dollars.”

Since earning the top prize, Carpenter’s life has relatively remained the same. He still works for the IRS and lives in Hamden, Conn., with his wife and their son, whom the couple welcomed in 2004, and remains a frugal spender.

Carpenter is proud to have been part of the show’s legacy and has even made a few guest appearances on Millionaire following his big win. In a 2024 interview shared by the franchise series on Facebook, he described the show as a “cultural touchstone,” saying, “I like to think that I have a little bit to do with that.”

So, where is John Carpenter now? Here’s everything to know about his life 26 years after becoming the first jackpot winner of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Who is John Carpenter?

When he appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in November 1999, Carpenter was a 31-year-old IRS employee living in Hamden with his wife, Debbie.

In a 1999 interview with PEOPLE, Carpenter’s neighbors and friends described him as “down-to-earth,” “reserved” and “funny,” while the show’s host, the late Regis Philbin, referred to Carpenter as having “ice water in his veins” and being “a little on the cocky side.”

The sudden fame that followed the win was a stark contrast to the ordinary life Carpenter had been living. One day after his episode aired, Carpenter appeared on Saturday Night Live, where he shared the stage with guest host Jennifer Aniston.

“I came from total obscurity,” Carpenter told PEOPLE at the time. “This is not my life. It was surreal. I thought the highlight of my 15 minutes of fame would be an interview with the wacky drive-time guys on WPLR in New Haven, Conn.”

He also made guest appearances on shows like Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Late Night with David Letterman and, of course, Live! with Regis & Kathie Lee.

“Tony Bennett stopped by my dressing room and told me Friday night was the best thing he’d ever seen on TV,” Carpenter told PEOPLE during his appearance on Letterman. “I was just floored. What a gentleman.”

How did John Carpenter win $1M?

Before appearing on the Nov. 19 episode that would lead to his legendary win, Carpenter had answered the first two trivia questions correctly on the previous evening’s episode. When he advanced to the next round, he answered 13 questions correctly and became the franchise’s first-ever winner.

In the 1999 PEOPLE cover story, Carpenter was described as having “ripped through his 15 questions with cold-blooded cyborg efficiency to win the first million-dollar jackpot.”

Carpenter didn’t use any of his lifelines while answering the questions — he could have asked the audience or narrowed it down to two choices — until the final round, when he was asked to name which U.S. president had been on the Laugh-In show.

The IRS employee called his father and famously said, “I don’t really need your help, I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to win the million dollars.”

He continued, “Because the U.S. president [who] appeared on Laugh-In is Richard Nixon. That’s my final answer.”

In April 2020, Carpenter reflected on his iconic line, telling the Washington Post that it was a “spur of the moment thing.”

“I’m a little bit of a smartass,” he told the publication. “I look back on it and — well, thank God I was right.”

How did John Carpenter intend to spend the $1M?

Following his win, Carpenter told PEOPLE that he didn’t have any luxurious purchases in mind and just wanted to be “comfortable the rest of my life,” but that he and his wife did have some plans for spending the cash prize.

Debbie shared that their wish list included a “J. Crew leather jacket for Christmas” and a trip to Paris. Carpenter joked that he would donate his money “to the Red Sox to help them sign another power pitcher to complement Pedro Martinez.”

There were also some plans for the money beyond material purchases.

“We’ve been talking about a family, having nothing to do with money,” Debbie said. “Of course, money makes it easier and moves things along.”

Carpenter teased the idea that his newfound “cushion” could also help him “start over fresh.” He expressed enthusiasm about his job with the IRS but was open to the idea of “expanding” himself and trying “something new.”

Does John Carpenter still work for the IRS?

After his win, Carpenter continued to work for the IRS in Hartford, Conn.

In May 2005, he received his law degree from the Quinnipiac University School of Law in Hamden. Carpenter took night and summer classes to earn his degree.

“I always thought I might make a good lawyer,” he told the Sun Journal after his graduation ceremony. “I’ve got wider horizons now. I want to move on, maybe try a new career, help people.”

Carpenter ended up staying on the IRS path. He told the New Haven Register in November 2009 that he still worked as a group manager for an IRS collection group in Connecticut, noting he hadn’t retired because the winnings weren’t enough to quit working entirely.

“It’s not like [major league] ball player money,” he said. “It’s a lot of money. It makes things more comfortable than they would be. But it’s not like what it used to mean when you said $1 million.”

As of 2020, Carpenter still worked for the IRS, per the Washington Post.

Where is John Carpenter now?

According to his X bio, Carpenter is a “New Englander, Husband, Father, Craft beer enthusiast, and yes, that John Carpenter. Not the movie director- the other one.”

In November 2009, Carpenter revealed to the New Haven Register how he spent the money, including making generous donations to charity, purchasing a BMW (which he traded in for a Volvo in 2008) and moving to a larger home in Hamden after the birth of his son in 2004. The family relocated again two years later to be closer to Carpenter’s wife’s parents.

Despite the substantial prize, Carpenter’s lifestyle remained modest. He told the newspaper that he and his wife rarely dined out, and when they did, it was usually at casual spots like Chili’s over pricier restaurants, saying, “That’s just not my lifestyle.”

Throughout the interview, Carpenter stressed that he preferred not to discuss money and admitted feeling irritated when people recognized him and called him “the millionaire.”

“I wasn’t a millionaire a second after I won the money,” he said.

After paying $400,000 in federal, state and local taxes, Carpenter was left with $600,000.

“It’s a hell of a lot of money, but I live in New England,” the former contestant told the Washington Post. “If I lived somewhere else, maybe it would be different.”

However, winning the show didn’t end his passion for trivia. According to the Post, Carpenter was an active member of a trivia team at a local brewery, where one teammate spent months without realizing he was the guy from Millionaire.

He’s also appeared on the show over the years, notably as an audience member during the 10th anniversary special in August 2009 and as an “Ask the Expert” lifeline on the eighth season of the syndicated series in September 2009. Carpenter paid a visit to the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted version in July 2024 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the U.S. version of the game show.