Mark Burnett

After stints working as a nanny for $250 per week, Mark went on to rent a portion of a fence at Venice Beach and sold T-shirts for $18 each during weekends. In 1991, Burnett, along with four others, joined an adventure competition in France. After competing, he saw a business opportunity in holding similar competitions in America. He seized that opportunity by purchasing the format rights and bringing a similar competition to America, which ultimately led to his career as a producer.

Burnett has gone on to produce some of TV’s most popular reality shows, such as Shark Tank, Survivor, The Apprentice, The Voice, and more. He has won eight Emmy Awards, and is known as the Father of Reality TV.