Survivor: Borneo, the first season of CBS’s Survivor, hosted its finale on August 23, 2000. After 39 days of competition, Richard Hatch, a corporate trainer from Newport, was named the Sole Survivor and became Survivor‘s first millionaire.
Nielsen reported that 125 million people watched at least some part of the finale.
The show was filmed from March 13, 2000 through April 20, 2000 and premiered on May 31, 2000. Hosted by Jeff Probst, it consisted of 39 days of gameplay with 16 competitors. It was set in the South China Sea on the remote Malaysian island of Tiga in the state of Sabah, about 6 miles off the north coast of Borneo, Malaysia.
Since Survivor Borneo, Hatch has been a contestant in a special Survivor edition of The Weakest Link, Dog Eat Dog, Castaway Special episode of Family Feud, The Celebrity Apprentice and countless other reunion and special shows.
In 2006, it was revealed that Hatch failed to declare his winnings, among other earnings, in his tax return and was sentenced to several months of imprisonment.
In 2010, Hatch was inducted into the Survivor Hall of Fame.
This story was originally published on August 23, 2015.