Mark Burnett is a Los Angeles based TV producer, with his television series broadcasting in more than 70 countries across the globe. Some of his most popular shows include The Voice, Shark Tank, The Apprentice, People’s Choice Awards, and Survivor.
TIME Magazine has named him as one of the most influential people in the world. He has been the winner of 5 Emmy Awards, and 4 People’s Choice Awards. In addition to producing TV programs, he has also authored 8 books so far. He has worked with some of the most notable people of the industry, including Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise, Blake Shelton, Donald Trump and Jeff Foxworthy.
Parents
Born in London in 1960, Mark Burnett was the only child of Jean and Archie Burnett. Both his parents worked as factory workers in a Ford Factory. His mother was Presbyterian, while his father was Roman Catholic.
Early life
At the age of 17, Mark was selected in the British Army as a Section Commander of the Parachute regiment, and served in the 3rd Battalion, witnessed the Falklands War. Since 1990, he has been made a naturalized US citizen. In 1982, he decided to immigrate to the US, where he began working as a live-in nanny in Jaeger family of Beverly Hills.
Later, he started selling T-shirts during weekends, and realized that he was making more money with his business. In 1991, he joined Raid Gauloises, a French adventure competition, after which he saw business in holding more competitions with similar format. He bought rights for Eco-Challenge, a similar competition that launched his TV producer career.
Achievements
Reality Cares Foundation named Burnett the ‘Philanthropist of the Year’, and he has also won Brandweek’s ‘Marketer of the Year Award’, the Rose d’Or Frapa Format Award, Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award, and also the Norman Lear Award from Producers Guild of America. He also served on the directors’ board of British Academy of Film and Television Arts for 2 years.
His The Voice, Survivor and Shark Tank are nominated for the Critics Choice Awards, from which The Voice won Best Reality Series award. His Eco-Challenge Morocco won the Sports Emmy Award for the best program achievement. For two consecutive awards in 2014 and 2015, he won PGA Awards for being the outstanding producer of competition TV for The Voice. In 2014, his Shark Tank won the Primetime Emmy Awards for being an Outstanding Structured Reality Program.
Marriage
Previously, Burnett was married to Dianne J. Burnett, and they have two sons, Cameron and James. They filed for separation in 2002, and legally separated in 2003. Later, they got divorced.
Afterwards, Burnett started dating Roma Downey in 2004, and they married in 2007 under evidence of Della Reese, the former co-star of Downey. Roma herself is a producer and actress best known for her ‘Touched by an Angel’ and ‘The Bible and beyond’.
Net Worth
Mark Burnett has a net worth of US $ $385 million.