Whether you want to admit it or not, we’re all a bit of reality television junkies. Most recently, serious history has been made in the form of the most money won on a reality television show ever. The second season of Deal or No Deal Island recently ended, and the winner has made history. Spoiler alert: David Genat, Australian reality television star, took home the biggest prize money anyone has ever won — a cool $5.8 million. Now, the Australian star is a household name around the globe.
Who Is David Genat?
Unless you’re a huge fan of the show he was on before Deal or No Deal Island, you might not know who David Genat is. Before his run on reality shows, David was once a model. He even posed for designers like Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren, according to InTouch.
He first made his way onto the small screen back in 2019, when he appeared on Australian Survivor: Champions V Contenders. His first go on a competition show wasn’t great, though. He wound up in 10th place that season. Genat was given the opportunity to compete again the next year on Australian Survivor: All Stars, where he won the competition and took home a half million dollar prize.
Before making his appearance on the second season of Deal or No Deal Island, Genat tried his hand on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia in 2021 where he took 8th place. Whatever he learned on those two shows must have worked, as he easily made it to the end of DONDI.
Record-Breaking Money
Now that we know that David Genat took home $5.8 million, the biggest prize money anyone has taken home on a reality television show, what was the biggest before that? A lot of reality shows have prizes of about $500,000 to $1 million or $2 million. According to Prestige, the biggest prize once belonged to Squid Game: The Challenge.
The reality TV show is based on the hit Netflix series Squid Game, where contestants compete in similar challenges to the scripted television show. The winner, Mai Whelan, took home a then-record-breaking $4.56 million.
How Did He Do It?
In case you missed it, David Genat had a crazy run when competing for the prize that he ultimately took home. When he faced the banker for the final time, he was aiming for the case that had a total of $12,232,001. Through every round, he pushed his luck, turning down millions of dollars that the banker offered him for his case. Somehow, he made it to the very end, where he was left with his case and one remaining, meaning he either held the grand prize of $12,232,001 or $75.
Despite being told to take the deal the banker offered him round after round, Ganat shocked his castmates by turning down every deal. Somehow, he knew what he was doing. He told USA TODAY, “I was having a spiritual experience, man. I just knew where that money was. I knew which cases to open. I was looking for signs from my father, who passed away a couple of years ago. I felt his presence there, and he was just guiding me on what cases to open.”
Whether he had spirits guiding him or it was just pure luck, David Genat picked the right cases. Now, he’ll go down in history not as a great Survivor player but as the reality television star to take home the most money ever.
Will anyone ever beat $5.8 million? Guess we’ll have to wait and see who can break this incredible record that David Genat has set. Maybe it’ll be broken on next year’s season of Deal or No Deal Island.
