Bradford Gates Rutter (born January 31, 1978) is an American game show contestant, TV host, producer, and actor. With over $5.1 million in winnings, he is currently the second-highest-earning American game show contestant of all time, behind Ken Jennings, and still the highest-earning contestant (primarily from special tournament events) on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! (with over $5 million). Until the Greatest of All Time Tournament in 2020, Rutter had never lost a Jeopardy! match against a human opponent (though he twice trailed at the end of the first game of a two-day tournament match before coming back to win). This streak consisted of his original 5-day run in 2000 (after which he retired undefeated) as well as 17 matches in five tournaments (including one as part of a team)—all of which he won. Rutter finished third in the match—both his first defeat overall and the first time he finished behind a human opponent. Early life Rutter is a 1995 graduate of Manheim Township High School in Neffsville, Pennsylvania, where he was on the quiz bowl team. The team won second place at the 1994 Texaco Star National Academic Championship. He is one of the 19 people to have been named to the National Academic Championship Hall of Fame in its 25-year history. At the 2005 Manheim Township High School graduation ceremony, he announced the start of a scholarship fund in memory of his late high-school quiz bowl coach, Anne Clouser. Rutter described himself as a slacker in school and a Johns Hopkins dropout (while there, he studied English). Before his success on Jeopardy!, he worked at the Lancaster Coconuts record store. Jeopardy! winnings Rutter first appeared on Jeopardy! on October 30, 2000, when the rules stipulated that a contestant who won five consecutive days retired undefeated and was guaranteed a spot in the Tournament of Champions. Rutter retired as an undefeated five-day champion, with $55,102 in winnings. He was also awarded a choice of Chevrolet cars; he picked two Chevrolet Camaros. At the time, Jeopardy! awarded new cars to five-day undefeated champions. The rules were changed in 2003, before Ken Jennings' run of 74 consecutive days in 2004, which made Jennings the largest overall Jeopardy! money winner. As a five-day champion, Rutter was invited to the 2001 Tournament of Champions, where he defeated other five-day champions and won the $100,000 main prize. He was invited back for the