Bankrate: So here you are, right after the final taping, with $2.5 million -- did you have any idea of how to handle that kind of money?
Ken
Jennings: I really didn't, except that I had done some reading on
people who get sudden windfalls, and I was just amazed at the numbers.
Maybe a third of people who get some kind of inheritance or lottery win
have lost it all within five years. An amazing number of people just don't
handle their windfall well. I didn't want to be one of those guys, where
you see some kind of "Where Are They Now?" story on the reportedly smart
"Jeopardy" champion who's blown all the money and is now living in a trailer
park somewhere. I didn't want that to be the story, so I read up on how
to deal with the windfall.
Lesson learned:
If you inherit money, get advice on how to manage it.
