The Rebel Billionaire (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest for the Best was a reality show for Fox Broadcasting Company's autumn 2004 season.
Premise
The premise for the series was that billionaire Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Worldwide, challenges 16 contestants to tasks that will prove to him which is most qualified to take over as president of Virgin Worldwide. This format is strongly derivative of popular NBC reality show The Apprentice, though as well as business-related tasks it also incorporates many tough physical challenges, reflecting Branson's love of daredevil stunts. Each week also saw the contestants travel to a different country, whereas The Apprentice is just situated in one area. Shawn Nelson, founder and CEO of LoveSac, was the winner of the first and, so far, only season.
Presentation
The one hour show premiered on November 9, 2004 on the Fox network, and aired ten episodes. Though the ratings were disappointing compared to Trump's hit show, Fox aired the show in its entirety, and the show has been aired in other countries like Australia as well as Branson's home of the United Kingdom.
Contestants
Shawn D Nelson (winner) - Founder of LoveSac Corporation
Sara Blakely - Founder of Spanx, Inc.
Gabriel Baldinucci
Heather MacLean - Founder of Little Laureate
Erica Vilardi
Nicole Harvat
Candida Tolentino
Steve Berke - Founder of Mooshpillow.com
Michael Zindell
Jessica McCann
Jermaine Jamison
Sam Heshmati
Jennifer Grinspan
Tim Hudson
Spencer
Aisha Crump
Broadcasting
- Broadcast over the summer non-ratings period on Channel Seven