Why winning “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” isn’t what it used to be
Is £1 million still life-changing? What “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” reveals about inflation.
The dream of £1 million
Many have had the same fantasy, often while at work. You look up from your screen and start imagining in vivid detail how you’d spend that £1 million windfall.
This is, of course, despite the fact that you never play the Lottery and there’s no seven-figure inheritance coming your way.
For some, though, this dream does become a reality. A retired IT analyst from Stockport recently became the seventh person ever to win the £1 million jackpot on the ITV show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”.
His thoughts naturally turned to how he was going to spend his winnings, which included moving house and travelling – both perfectly reasonable choices.
But there’s one unfortunate element to this story. Winning £1 million today isn’t quite the same as it was when the show first aired in 1998 – it simply doesn’t go as far as it used to.
Why £1 million doesn’t go as far today
The reason is inflation – the rise in prices for goods and services over time. It means your money buys less than it used to. While inflation might feel abstract, it can do a lot of damage over the years.
Let’s start with the gameshow’s jackpot. £1 million in 2026 is equivalent to just £505,600 in 19981. To match the value of the original prize, the jackpot today would need to be almost £2 million (£1,977,900).
In other words, what once felt like a life-changing sum doesn’t stretch nearly as far today.
This also helps explain why big-ticket plans – such as a once-in-a-lifetime holiday – could cost significantly more than they would have when the programme started.
A close look at rising costs
We can see the effects of inflation even more clearly when we look at house prices – another common ambition for anyone coming into a large sum of money.
Back in 1998, the average UK house price was £61,0102. Fast forward to 2026 and the average price is now £268,1322. That’s a 339% increase.
In some parts of the country, house prices have risen even faster. In Stockport, for example, the average was £57,620 in 19982. Now it’s £313,1012. That’s a whopping 443% increase.
Even though most of us won’t win a gameshow jackpot, the same forces are at work in our own finances.
What this means for your money
So what does all this mean for the rest of us, beyond politely asking ITV to keep up with inflation?
It’s a very good reminder that, once you have enough money saved for emergencies, you may want to think twice about keeping the rest of it in a bank account in the long term.
This is because, as we’ve seen, cash loses its value over time.
Why investing can help
This is where investing plays an important role.
Over the long term, investing has historically given money a better chance of keeping up with – and even beating – inflation, compared to holding it in cash. It gives your money the opportunity to grow and helps protect its value over time.
For example, if you put £10,000 in a bank account at the end of 1998, it would have grown to £20,798 by the end of 2025. But inflation means its real value would reduce to £6,126. If you invested it globally in shares, it would have grown to £89,225 and be worth £74,553 after inflation3.
Past performance isn’t a guarantee of future results, but it’s a compelling example of the power of investing.
A final thought
The other takeaway is a more light-hearted one.
The next time you catch yourself daydreaming about spending money you don’t have, you may want to base it on a £2 million win instead.
Because as today’s millionaires are finding out, it’s not just about winning the money – it’s about making sure it lasts.
1 Bank of England inflation calculator.
2 UK House Price Index (prices shown are for March 1998 and March 2026) House Price Statistics - UK House Price Index.
3 Source: Factset, Vanguard calculations based on period 31 December 1998 to 31 December 2025. Cash returns represented by the UK Sterling Overnight Index Average benchmark (SONIA), global shares by the FTSE All-World Index with dividends reinvested, and inflation by the UK Retail Price Index (RPI). SONIA reflects the average rate of interest banks pay to borrow overnight, unsecured sterling cash on a given day.
Investment risk information
The value of investments, and the income from them, may fall or rise and investors may get back less than they invested.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
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