William "Bill" Rancic (; born May 16, 1971) is an American entrepreneur who was the first candidate hired by The Trump Organization at the conclusion of the first season of Donald Trump's reality television show, The Apprentice. As of 2011, he stars in the reality show Giuliana and Bill with his wife Giuliana Rancic, as well as hosting America Now with Leeza Gibbons.

Rancic is a motivational speaker and a Chicago, Illinois, real estate developer.

Rancic was instrumental in helping found FabFitFun, a woman's website focused on health, beauty, and fashion.

Early life and education

Rancic was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in the suburb of Orland Park in a family of Croatian () and Irish heritage. He attended St. Michael's School in Orland Park, and graduated from Carl Sandburg High School. He earned a B.S. from Loyola University Chicago. His mother is Gail Rancic; his father Edward Rancic died of cancer in 1999. Rancic has three sisters, Beth, Katie and Karen.

The Apprentice

Rancic was one of the job applicants in The Apprentice 1 during the spring of 2004, as one of 16 contestants. Rancic was hired at the conclusion of the 14-week job interview after Donald Trump fired Kwame Jackson.

Rancic was the first reality TV star to be hired on national television. He elected to take charge of the construction of the Trump Tower Chicago in his native Chicago, Illinois, on the site of the demolished Chicago Sun-Times building. His other option was to oversee and manage a new Trump National Golf Course and resort in Los Angeles, California. The Trump National course was a potential site for season 6 of the show.

For the final challenge against competitor Kwame Jackson, Trump gave Rancic the task of running a celebrity golf outing in Briarcliff Manor, NY, while Jackson was tasked to manage a Jessica Simpson concert. At the final board meeting, Jackson remarked that running a golf outing was the easier of the two tasks, which brought a disagreement from Trump VP Carolyn Kepcher, who was managing a golf course when Trump hired her. Trump hired Rancic for doing a very good job.

Career after The Apprentice

As an Apprentice

Originally Rancic said that after his one-year contract as being Donald Trump's Apprentice expired, he would leave the job and start his own company. He instead opted to remain part of the Trump Organization, and in some seasons filled in as a judge when regular judge George Ross was away on business.

Work outside of Trump

In September 2007, Rancic co-hosted iVillage's In the Loop with iVillage a TV show and webcast produced by NBC Universal. NBC commissioned a set at the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. In September 2008, Rancic began as host for the A&E reality show, We Mean Business, in which small business owners undergo business make-overs.

In 2008, Rancic and his wife, TV host Giuliana Rancic (née DePandi) started a joint television production company, You and I Productions, which produces reality and scripted programming for television.

In 2010, Rancic started hosting a news program called America Now, which is broadcast across the United States on stations owned by Raycom Media. The following year, "America Now" was brought back for a second season, with Leeza Gibbons joining Bill Rancic. Originally, the Show was on every Weekend, but when Leeza Gibbons joined the show, It moved to Monday through Friday Timeslots.

Personal life

Real estate

Rancic owned a condo on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, which he sold less than 20 months after purchasing the unit on the 50th floor of the Park Tower building.

Rancic had owned a home in Hinsdale, Illinois that was prominently featured on his reality show, but he sold it in February 2011, just a few months after moving in.

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