Mark Burnett
Winner of ten Emmy Awards, Mark Burnett is a British-born television producer and, an author based in Los-Angeles. He is currently serving in MGM Television and Digital Group as a president December 2015. He is the executive producer of six network television shows/ specials and one cable show. Mark Burnett was born on 17 July 1960 in London, England.
Early Life and Career
Mark Burnett is the only child of his parents Archie and Jean Burnett who were both factory workers. Mark was raised in Dagenham, Essex. He attended the local school in Essex. He was enlisted in British Army at the age of 17 and became a Section Commander in Parachute Regiment. He served in the British Army with the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment in C Company from 1978-1982 during the Falkland War.
In 1982, Mark Burnett immigrated to the United States and started working as a nanny and security. Prior to starting his career as a television producer, Mark worked in an insurance office and also sold T-shirts. In 1991, he participated in a French adventure competition called the Raid Gauloises. Seeing the business opportunity holding the competitions, he purchased the format rights and brought similar adventure competition called Eco-Challenge and hence Mark initiated his career as a television producer.
Productions
After stepping into the world of productions, Mark Burnett did not need to look back. Mark Burnett has produced several hot series like Survivor, The Apprentice, Rock Star, Toughest Cowboy, The Contender Asia and many others. Then he and his wife produced The Bible, which became the No.1 new series on cable television as of 2013 across Canada, Spain and Portugal. The Bible is reported to be viewed by more than 100 million viewers.
Seeing the success of the faith-based series, Mark Burnett and his wife started developing more faith-based scripts including Son of God, Little Boy, and Woodlawn. In December 2015, Mark became the president of MGM television and Digital Group signing the five-year deal. He produced a film titled ‘Ben-Hur’ which was adapted from the novel Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ, which was a box office flop.
Personal Life
Mark Burnett has been married twice till date. He was previously married to Dianne J. Burnett (Valentine). The couple also has two children, named, James and Cameron. The couple filed for divorce in 2002 and the judgment for legal separation came in December 2003. The couple finally got divorced in 2006.
After Dianne and Mark got separated, Mark met with Roma Downey, an actress. The two started dating since January 2004. After getting divorced, Mark Burnett proposed Downey in Mexico where they went on vacation with their children. Downey accepted the marriage proposal and the two got married in April 2007. The couple is living happily together and is supportive to each other. The two work hand in hand in productions and has produced The Bible miniseries and are the co-owners of United Artists Media group. They are also actively involved in charity.
Net worth
Mark Burnett is one of the richest men. The Sunday Times reported on Mark’s net worth to be around $385 million along with his wife Roma Downey in 2009. Coming to this far, his net worth must have been increased more than this.