Donald Trump is currently President of the United States (again), there was a time when his claim to fame was largely reality TV. He launched The Apprentice in 2004, a boardroom-style competition series that quickly became a cultural phenomenon, and helped cement Trump as a primetime fixture on television. At one point, he was reportedly demanding $6 million an episode to host the show– equivalent to the Friends cast’s combined salary. The success of The Apprentice helped him build an estimated net worth of $4 billion as of 2025.
