The Rebel Billionaire Series 1, 10 Episodes

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 incorporated 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 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 12 episodes through January 2005.[2] Although the show had over 5.5 million viewers, it was considered a ratings disappointment for American television prime-time programming.[3] The show found ratings success internationally though, airing in 19 countries around the world, ranking as the #1 show in many countries where Richard Branson does business.[4] The Rebel Billionaire also reran on the Fox Reality Channel.