Enrico Chicote. This is the name of the only person who won the Spanish version of Who wants to Be a Millionaire?
An entire country remembers him for the epic television moment he left as a legacy. It happened before answering the question of 50 million pesetas.
Knowing the demand and still having the chance to use his wild card, Enrique called his wife Maribel. When everyone thought she would ask for an opinion that would help him win, the contestant broke the rules: Instead of asking his wife for help, he told her he would gain 50 kilos..
From which fruit is copra obtained?, was the last question. The answer could be coconut or cherry, and Enrique knew it very well.
It was the first phase of the British programme Who wants to Be a Millionaire? in Spain. The competition had debuted in 1998 in the United Kingdom and Enrique had participated in the Spanish edition in 2000 (the first stage in that country lasted from 1999 to 2001 and was broadcast by Telecinco under the name 50×15 and hosted by Carlos Sobera).
Enrique introduced himself as an agronomist from Barcelona. If you passed the fifteen questions with four answer options each, you would get 50 million pesetas, a sum that today would be equivalent to around 300,500 euros.
His performance That was great. That’s why he allowed himself the luxury of creating the entertaining final performance. He still had one wild card left of the three that the program offered him (the public one, the 50% one and the called one, which was the one he used in the fifteenth answer).
Chicote called his wife to let her know he was going to gain “50 kilos.”His award was the largest awarded up to that time by Spanish television.
In 2020, when he participated in a new edition of the program, Chicote told how his life continued after the victory and what he did with the prize.
“The accommodation problem has been solved enough for me.“, he said in conversation with the new presenter, Juanra Bonet. On that occasion he didn’t win the jackpot, but took home another 15,000 euros.
As can be seen on his LinkedIn, the billionaire continued his life working as a teacher and running a Catalan secondary school.
The largest prize won by Enrique is equivalent, today, to a figure close to 300,500 euros.Finished in 2001, Antena 3 purchased the rights to the competition to broadcast it from 2005 to 2009, also with Sobera as master of ceremonies.
The program had a third stage in 2012, but this time on La Sexta and under the name El millionario. There, Nuria Roca replaced Sobera as presenter.
Chicote returned to a new edition of the program and won 15,000 euros.The 2012 edition of the program failed and seemed to have marked the end of the Spanish television program. However, Antena 3 brought it back in 2020 to celebrate its 20th anniversary with old competitors and Bonet hosting.
Source: Clarin
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