Million-dollar question: Solve this maths problem, win $1 million

WASHINGTON: Want to be a millionaire? Try solving this tricky math problem!

A billionaire Dallas banker will shell out $1 million to anyone who can solve a mathematical problem that has baffled geniuses for years.

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) in Rhode Island has announced that the prize for the solution to the Beal Conjecture, a number theory problem, has been increased to $1 million.

The prize and conjecture are named for D Andrew 'Andy' Beal, the Dallas banker who has a strong interest in number theory and who provided the funds for the Beal Prize. The prize will be awarded for either a proof of,or a counterexample to, the Beal Conjecture.

A related math problem, Fermat's Last Theorem theorem was proved in the 1990s by Andrew Wiles , together with Richard Taylor.

Both the Beal Conjecture and Fermat's Last Theorem are typical of many statements in number theory: easy to say, but extremely difficult to prove.

Andy Beal first established the prize for a solution to the Beal Conjecture in 1997. To date, no correct solution to the problem has been found. The current funding is an increase from the previously funded amount of$1,00,000.

"I was inspired by the prize offered for proving Fermat ," said Beal, a self-taught mathematician.