The Survivor Winner Who Lost Everything

In the summer of 2000, viewers from all over the world watched Richard Hatch outwit, outplay, and outlast 15 other contestants on the first season of "Survivor." The reality show, which follows a group of castaways who must compete against each other on an island and survive, was instantly a smash hit. In fact, the finale of the first season, which saw Hatch crowned the victor, received an average of 51.7 million viewers, which was practically unprecedented at the time. The massive success of the show quickly made Hatch a very popular public figure.

However, Hatch is also considered one of the shadiest "Survivor" players. Instead of receiving a fairy tale ending after winning the $1 million grand prize, Hatch has been plagued with legal troubles and controversy. Over the years, the Rhode Island native has consistently made the wrong decisions and proven why he is such a controversial figure. Here is a closer look at how Hatch and a detailed examination of how he's lost just about everything.

After winning the first ever season of "Survivor," Richard Hatch was definitely on top of the world. In the summer of 2000, Hatch received fame and fortune that he likely wouldn't have been able to imagine before surviving 39 days on the beaches and in the jungles of Borneo. However, six years after winning the $1 million grand prize, Hatch was made to spend time behind bars instead of on a deserted island.

In May 2006, Hatch was sentenced to 51 months in prison for failing to report earnings from his $1 million "Survivor" prize. Hatch faced 10 criminal convictions, which included bank, mail, and wire fraud, as well as tax evasion. 

In a news release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice following the verdict, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Tax Division Eillen J. O'Connor stated, "Our nation's federal tax system is not a reality show to be outwitted, it is a reality, period. The Department of Justice is working vigorously to vindicate the interests of law-abiding taxpayers: tax cheats will be found out, prosecuted, and punished."

In addition to failing to file taxes for his $1 million "Survivor" prize, Richard Hatch also didn't file income from appearances he made after winning the reality show. The first season of "Survivor" was a worldwide phenomenon, and by being crowned the winner, Hatch instantly became the most popular castaway from the season. Therefore, after the show's finale, he was in high demand.

Between 2000 and 2001, Hatch made over $320,000 for radio appearances, according to U.S. Department of Justice, but he did not file taxes on this sum. He also failed to file taxes on nearly $28,000 in rental income and $36,500 for donations to his charity, Horizon Bound. Along with his cash winnings from "Survivor," Hatch was also awarded a Pontiac Aztec, valued at about $27,000 — which he also neglected to pay taxes for. All told, Hatch was ultimately found guilty for failing to report approximately $1.4 million to the IRS.

Even though Richard Hatch was found guilty and served time in prison, he has always been adamant that he believed CBS, the broadcasting company that airs "Survivor," was supposed to pay the taxes for his win and his appearances after the show. During the trial, Hatch's lawyer argued that he should have been considered a CBS employee, which would've made the network responsible for the taxes.

In March 2005, over a year before the trial began, Hatch's lawyer, Michael Minns, explained, "He was under the impression that they were either going to withhold from the check or pay the tax, and apparently neither occurred" (via Today). Furthermore, Hatch himself claimed, "I'm being used as an example, as a scapegoat. And I'm innocent. This is nothing more than their effort to use my notoriety to get other people to pay taxes."

Despite Hatch and his lawyer's efforts to blame CBS, the broadcasting company argued that he always knew he was responsible for paying his own taxes. "Richard Hatch was well aware of his obligation to pay taxes on his 'Survivor' prize money," CBS claimed in a statement.

Obviously, Richard Hatch and his lawyer's arguments did not convince the jury of his innocence, as they found him guilty. However, in the years since serving time in prison, he has argued that there was a sinister reason the jury found him guilty. Hatch believes that the members of the jury were rooting against him because he is an openly gay man.

On his first appearance on "Survivor," Hatch was open about his sexuality. In many ways, this was monumental, since it was rare to see an openly gay person on television at the turn of the century. Without a doubt, this came with backlash and criticism from some fans of "Survivor." But was the jury really homophobic?

In an interview with The Daily Beast in 2024, Hatch claimed that his openness about his sexuality "devastated [his] life" and is the reason he was convicted. "I didn't anticipate it. It's the reason I was prosecuted. I could go into details, but you wouldn't care now, about the homophobia and the prospective jurors writing [homophobic slurs] and the judge refusing to even let us question jurors about it. I mean, it was crazy that that happened." 

Before Richard Hatch's crimes were brought into the limelight, he once again competed on "Survivor." The eighth season of the show, called "Survivor: All-Stars," featured returning players and aired in spring 2004, just four years after Hatch won.

Since he was the first winner of the reality competition series and one of the most popular contestants at the time, it made complete sense for him to return for "All-Stars." Hatch's return suggests that his relationship with CBS and the producers of the show had not yet soured at this point in time. However, things did not go his way on "Survivor: All-Stars." Being a former Survivor contestant has its consequences, and for Hatch this meant many knew all about his antics in Season 1. Despite his unusual strategy leading him to be crowned on Season 1, Hatch was the fourth to be voted out of season 8.

Before he faced an onslaught of legal troubles, Richard Hatch was already seen as a controversial public figure thanks to his behavior on both of his seasons of "Survivor." While competing on the first season of the show, Hatch would often walk around the camp naked — a "strategic" decision, he told Us Weekly. In "Survivor: All-Stars," Hatch took this up a notch by competing in a challenge naked.

During an immunity challenge in the fifth episode of "Survivor: All-Stars," the castaways had to brush against each other while walking across a narrow balance beam. A nude Hatch pushed his body against fellow contestant Sue Hawk, who felt violated by the encounter. During the next episode of the show, Hawk was not afraid to express her feelings, unleashing a warranted and epic reality show-worthy freak-out. "I was sexually violated," Hawk said. 'To have some guy come up, he passed a half a dozen people on platforms and never touched 'em. It went too far. He crossed the line with me ... I was violated, humiliated, dehumanized and totally spent." Needless to say, Hatch is considered by many to be a reality star who treated his co-star like trash.

Hawk further claimed that Jeff Probst and the show's producers were not handling the situation properly. Although Hatch was voted out in the same episode that the incident took place, Hawk decided to quit the game. In 2019, Hatch took to X to deny his fellow contestant's experience. "I never learned about Sue's concocted story until months later. She made it up after I was gone, [and] I maintain nudity is healthy and natural," he wrote. "Nobody on All-Stars could claim my (or others') nudity was a surprise. We all signed up, literally [and] legally, to deal with it."

Richard Hatch was released from prison in 2009, many years after he competed on "Survivor: All-Stars." However, his freedom didn't last long. In fact, Hatch was only out of prison for two years before he was sent back. In March 2011, Hatch was sentenced to an additional 9 months in prison for failing to refile his taxes from 2000 and 2001.

The fact that he still hadn't complied with the IRS showed that Hatch hadn't learned his lesson. This is precisely why U.S. District Court Judge William Smith thought it was necessary to sentence Hatch to additional time in prison. "You don't have the option of engaging in this type of game or negotiation with the court," the judge said (via CBS News). "It needs to be a severe punishment. That's the only thing that will deter you in the future."

At this point in time, Hatch reportedly owed more than $2 million to the IRS. His debt increased substantially in the years since his original trial, which made it clear that Hatch's troubles weren't going to go away anytime soon.

Despite his various legal issues, Richard Hatch seems more concerned with his "Survivor" legacy. After all of his controversies and criminal convictions, Hatch believes that some of the producers are trying to erase him from the show's history.

In an interview with TheThings in 2024, Hatch said, "I think people do notice, that I'm not as involved as many would still like me to be in 'Survivor,' and that's not by choice for me. That's about behind-the-scenes stuff between Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst and me and I think a tremendous unfairness and real irresponsibility on their part from the beginning with respect to who I am and what I did and what happened to me as a result of being a gay atheist openly on that show."

Although he won the first season of the show, the producers aren't required to honor him in any way. After all, "Survivor" is entering its 49th season in September 2025, and many new fans likely don't know the names of many past winners.

"Survivor: Winners at War," which aired in 2020, was a monumental season for "Survivor" and reality TV, in general. For the season, 20 previous winners from the show's history were brought back to compete against each other, but Richard Hatch was not one of them.

Building on his belief that he is being erased from the show's history, Hatch claims he was cut from "Winners at War" just two days before it started filming. Speaking with TheThings, he said, "You probably know I was invited back for winners at war. Yep. Two days before shooting, they dropped Tina and me. I think that was [Jeff] Probst's decision. At least, that's what I was told."

In an interview with Us Weekly, Probst revealed, "I think we called every single winner about returning." However, he didn't think Hatch would be a good fit. "The bigger consideration was 'Where is the show now?' and 'Do these 20 winners represent the show today?' In that sense, we didn't feel that Rich fit into the equation," Probst admitted. Additionally, he told the outlet, "I didn't feel comfortable having him out on the show and representing a show that is for families."

Given Richard Hatch's above comments about being cut from "Winners at War," which he blames on Probst, he clearly has some unsettled beef with the host. In interviews leading up to the premiere of "House of Villains," another reality show on which Hatch competed, Hatch certainly had a lot of negative things to say about the powers that be behind "Survivor," even going so far as to blame them for his misfortunes.

Speaking with TooFab in 2024, Hatch revealed, "I have no idea where I stand with the franchise, but there are the folks ... Mark Burnett and Jeff Probst, for example, who have acted incredibly irresponsibly with respect to not engaging with me and not correcting their own kind of mistakes that could have prevented my family and life from being devastated."

Shifting focus to the actual game of "Survivor," Hatch further criticized Probst for his approach to the show. He admitted that he has never missed an episode of "Survivor," but he hasn't been happy with some of the more recent seasons — a sentiment shared by others who think "Survivor" has become totally fake. He said, "I think Jeff is particularly responsible for problems with the show, and I don't think he gets it. ... I think, frankly, he's just not bright enough to understand why viewers are drawn to the show."

Despite his various controversies and his seemingly ongoing beef with Probst and other "Survivor" producers, Richard Hatch has appeared on several other reality TV shows. He undoubtedly has a larger than life personality, and his outspoken nature makes him a great character to watch on television. Therefore, he always shows up in a brand-new show every few years, which helps him stay in the public eye.

Since competing on "Survivor's" first season and "All-Stars," Hatch has appeared on shows like "Battle of the Network Reality Stars," "The Apprentice," "The Biggest Loser," and the aforementioned "House of Villains." "House of Villains" is the most recent reality show that Hatch appeared on, but just like in "Survivor: All-Stars," things didn't necessarily go his way. Hatch came in tenth place on the second season of "House of Villains," and was the second contestant banished. Therefore, even though he is still considered a "Survivor" legend, it seems like Hatch's days of being a reality TV champion are long gone.

Even though Hatch last served time in prison — twice — he still owes a significant amount of money to the IRS. In fact, his tax bill has only continued to grow over the years. According to Bloomberg Tax, Hatch's tax bill as of 2024 stands at $3.3 million. That's a lot for a "Survivor" winner who's not worth much money today; he has a net worth of just $200,000, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Regardless, the IRS has not forgotten about Hatch's outstanding debt and even put a lien on his sister's property, believing Hatch transferred ownership of the property to her in an attempt to skirt the law.

Reflecting on Hatch's legal troubles, Malia Haskins, VP of Estate Planning at national RIA firm Nepsis, told Wealth Management, "When Hatch became the winner of the first season of 'Survivor,' no one likely envisioned that 24 years later he would be found liable to the IRS for more than three times his winnings from the show. The Hatch case is an extreme example of how awry things can go if a U.S. citizen fails to report all income as required." The expert continued, saying, "Had Richard sought proper tax advice, he would likely have avoided criminal prosecution and wouldn't be facing a tax obligation that exceeds three times the amount of income he failed to report."