Actually, I researched this and apparently, this is only somewhat true. Before they adopted the Euro, Miljoenenjacht’s final was a quiz programme with 7 questions and for each question answered correctly, a 0 was added to the end of the starting prize of 1 and given to the contestant. Therefore, it does appear to be “the” record, but not in terms of Deal or No Deal, at least; the Deal or No Deal record belongs to Helma (in the video; at least, I believe that’s her name) and as DOND is all about luck, people often feel like attributing the status of “biggest winner” to her rather than to Arno, who may not have needed any luck in answering his 7 questions correctly (even though in terms of records, this seems to make no difference).

It is still, by a long LONG way, the biggest game show win anywhere in the world ever. Still. About 30% clear of KJ and Rutter, if I've got my calculations correct, and Dutch game show prizes are taxed at a lower rate than US winnings (a flat 25% – they're treated as capital gains, which to be honest makes an awful lot of intuitive sense).

It is still, by a long LONG way, the biggest game show win anywhere in the world ever. Still. About 30% clear of KJ and Rutter, if I've got my calculations correct, and Dutch game show prizes are taxed at a lower rate than US winnings (a flat 25% – they're treated as capital gains, which to be honest makes an awful lot of intuitive sense).