Cordray has his stint on Jeopardy

And the answer is: This man placed second to aerospace consultant Tom Nosek on Wednesday night’s episode of Jeopardy!

And the answer is: This man placed second to aerospace consultant Tom Nosek on Wednesday night’s episode of Jeopardy!

If you said, “Who is Richard Cordray?” you’re correct. The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau came in second on the popular game show, racking up $5,200 in winnings.

Cordray, who was a five-time champion on the show in 1987, appeared this week as part of the “Battle of the Decades” tournament, in which past winners were invited back to compete during the show’s 30th anniversary season.

Cordray bet everything in Final Jeopardy, but it wasn’t quite enough to break Nosek’s lead. The aerospace consultant went home with $7,201.

“These are some of the very top players of all time, and Jeopardy! always asks tough questions, so it was a tremendous challenge that I greatly enjoyed,” Cordray said in a statement.

As for the $5,200 Cordray won, it turns out those are only theoretical dollars. As a presidential appointee, Cordray isn’t allowed to accept the money – even to donate to charity.