Jeff Gross, a mortgage consultant living in Richmond, Surrey and Leucadia, California, was a contestant on both the UK and US versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on October 30, 2001 and November 16-17-18 2004. He won £64,000 and $500,000.
He was also a Fastest Finger First contestant on the show where Judith Keppel won the million, as well as on the show for Charles Ingram's infamous appearance.
In November 2008, Jeff appeared as an "expert" for the "Ask the Expert" lifeline on the US version of the show. During that time, he announced that he successfully bidden for the contestant hot seat from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Play It! in an auction.
Jeff would use his first lifeline, Ask the Audience (Studio: A-37% B-39% C-14% D-10% AOL: A-20% B-36% C-19% D-25%). He wasn't confident in his poll numbers, so he used his next lifeline, Phone-a-Friend. His brother Todd, who "knows everything" at least according to Jeff, was 100% sure that the answer was Jane, which turned out to be the right answer. Said Jeff: "You rock!"
$250,000 (13 of 15) - Not Timed
What ex-president wrote about his love for fishing in the book "Fishing for Fun and to Wash Your Soul"? 'Switch the Question' lifeline used
⬥ A: Harry Truman
⬥ B: Richard Nixon
⬥ C: Herbert Hoover
⬥ D: Dwight Eisenhower
Jeff had absolutely no idea, so he elected to Switch the Question in favor of a different question with the same value. The correct answer was C: Herbert Hoover.
$250,000 (13 of 15) - Not Timed - Switched Question
What is the highest note on a standard 88-key piano?
⬥ A: C
⬥ B: B flat
⬥ C: F sharp
⬥ D: A
Jeff claimed to be "just enough" of a musician to know the answer. He repeatedly pointed to the correct answer, going so far as to refer to it as "the one on the upper left hand corner", perhaps to avoid confusing it with a different answer from the choices (just like what happened in a fictional scenario involving Barry). Said Meredith: "YEEEEEEEEEEEAH!"
$500,000 (14 of 15) - Not Timed
After nitrogen and oxygen, what is the third most abundant gas in air? '50:50' lifeline used
⬥ A: Xenon
⬥ B: Argon
⬥ C: Helium
⬥ D: Neon
Jeff used his last lifeline, 50:50, eliminating A and C. He had a 75-80% inkling that the correct answer was B, but D lingered presumably in a voice in his head. He locked in B as his final answer, making him a half millionaire. The klaxon called time once again and he would return on the following episode with $500,000 in his pocket, all out of lifelines.
$1,000,000 (15 of 15) - Not Timed
Now used to refer to a cat, the word "tabby" is derived from the name of a district of what world capital?
⬥ A: Baghdad
⬥ B: New Delhi
⬥ C: Cairo
⬥ D: Moscow
Jeff had a slight inkling towards Cairo, noting that the Egyptians used to worship cats. He ultimately decided to walk away with $500,000. The correct answer was A: Baghdad.
Total Prize Money: $500,000
Gallery[]
USA Appearance.
Jeff walking away with $500,000.
Trivia[]
On both of his runs, Jeff used his Phone-a-Friend lifeline on questions about British literature. On the UK version he used it on a £32,000 question about Charles Dickens, and on the US version he used it on a $100,000 question about Agatha Christie.
Jeff is the only contestant on the syndicated version of American Millionaire to return as the crossover contestant just to play the $1,000,000 question. Tom O'Brien did so on the primetime version. Unlike Tom, however, Jeff would've missed the final question.
He is the first known contestant on any international version of Millionaire on whom the klaxon called time twice in the same run, appearing as a contestant in three episodes in a row.
