Richard Hatch

Richard Hatch was the winner of the first season of Survivor in Borneo. He won the grand prize of $1,000,000, but was incarcerated for tax evasion. He also was a castaway on Survivor: All-Stars and placed 14th respectively.

Profile
Richard currently runs his own business as a corporate trainer and consultant, conducting seminars on numerous topics including, conflict management, team building, practical negotiation and public speaking. In addition, he is a licensed real estate agent and has worked as a car salesman and bartender. He spent five years in the Army, initially enlisting and then becoming a West Point Cadet.

Richard is halfway through the Masters' program in education and counseling at Providence College in Rhode Island. Past studies have included oceanography and marine biology at Florida Institute of Technology, management at The United States Military Academy and general studies at George Mason University. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Management and Applied Behavioral Sciences through National-Louis University.

Richard describes himself as bright, rational, spontaneous and humorous - "just as comfortable running a meeting in a boardroom as attending the annual nude weenie roast of the American Society of Harley Davidson Enthusiasts." He enjoys provocative and meaningful conversation, any sport involving water (snorkeling, spear fishing, swimming, etc.) and camping.

Richard is from and currently lives in Newport, Rhode Island. He is currently single and has an adopted son, Christopher.

Survivor: Borneo
Richard Hatch competed in the inaugural season of Survivor that was held in Borneo and was placed on the orange Tagi tribe. After his tribe's first two Tribal Councils, Hatch created the most effective strategy (a move that will be heavily copied over the proceeding seasons), the alliance. He made a pact with Rudy Boesch, Kelly Wiglesworth and Sue Hawk, a decision proved to be effective on their first try, in which Dirk Been became their first casualty. This strategy would then be the basis for how will the game be played in future seasons.

When the merge came, more severe damage was taken by the other castaways because of the plan, as their first post-merger Tribal Council ended with an erratic 4-1-1-1-1-1-1 (with the foursome voting against Gretchen, while the rest became throwaways). The success of the alliance continued until the members of their former opposing tribe Pagong were eliminated, one by one, until the five remaining castaways are exclusively comprised of the five Tagi members that entered the merge. When the former Tagi members started to turn on each other, their next casualty was Sean Kenniff, the only Tagi that was never part of the alliance, leaving the core alliance of four as the final four castaways.

In the final four, Wiglesworth managed to win immunity once again, ensuring that one of the alliance would be voted out. In a 2-2 tie (the first tie in Survivor history), Hatch and Hawk were both in danger of elimination. But when asked to vote again, Wiglesworth opted to eliminate Hawk, cementing the end of their friendship. At the Final Three immunity challenge, Hatch chose to eliminate himself early, trusting both Wiglesworth and Boesch to take him to the Final Two regardless of who won. And when Wiglesworth won immunity, she did exactly that and voted out Rudy, making him the final member of the Jury.

In the final two, Hatch was accused of being way too cocky and overall an evil person. But it was Hawk's comments that really struck home. Comparing Hatch to a snake, she claimed that she must vote for him as nature intended, because the snake must eat the rat, who was Wiglesworth. Clearly shaken by this statement, Wiglesworth would not acknowledge Hawk after the show, opting not to hug her.

In the end, Hatch became the first ever Sole Survivor in a 4-3 vote, gaining the votes of Rudy Boesch, Susan Hawk, Sean Kenniff, and Greg Buis. Buis asked Wiglesworth and Hatch to pick a number between one and ten.

Survivor: All-Stars
Hatch's appearance on Survivor: All-Stars was a very short but eventful one. As part of the original Mogo Mogo tribe, they lost one member in Day 9 when Survivor: The Amazon winner Jenna Morasca quit to be with her dying mother. When the Saboga tribe was dissolved in Episode 5, Mogo Mogo gained two extra members and when they lost immunity, they immediately targeted Hatch. Although Hatch got wind of his impending doom and put together a counter strategy, his plans were foiled and he was voted out.

Arrest
On January 19, 2005, the United States Attorney's Office in Providence, Rhode Island, reported that Hatch had failed to report the $1,010,000 he had received from the Survivor show on his Federal income tax returns (the additional $10,000 was paid for his appearance at the live Survivor reunion after the finale). Hatch also allegedly failed to report approximately $321,000 he received that year for appearances on radio station WQSX-FM in Boston. Prosecutors stated Hatch would be charged with filing a false tax return. An agreement was arranged whereby Hatch was offered a lenient sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. Hatch withdrew from the arrangement. He subsequently said he was basing his defense on his belief (which he now acknowledges was not correct) that CBS had arranged to pay the taxes before awarding him the money.

On August 18, 2009, he was re-arrested and taken into federal custody for granting two supposedly unauthorized interviews (prisoners under house arrest are required to get permission from the federal Bureau of Prisons before any media contact), one with Access Hollywood and another with Rhode Island NBC affiliate WJAR. He had been allowed by the Bureau of Prisons to be interviewed by Today earlier in the day. On September 9, 2009, Hatch's private and ACLU lawyers petitioned for habeas corpus so he might return home for the remainder of his sentence, on the grounds that prison media-access rules apply only in prison, and that permissions are negotiated between the media and the prison so their limitations did not bind Hatch.

On October 16, 2009, Hatch was released from prison after completing his federal sentence. Yet still under house arrest.

Other
Richard, and the rest of the Survivor: Borneo final four became one of the personalities during the Survivor 10th anniversary party in Spring 2010.

Richard competed in Celebrity Apprentice on March 2011, where his chosen charity was Grassroots Soccer, the charity created by fellow winner and All-Star Ethan Zohn.

Trivia

 * Hatch is the only Survivor winner to be announced right after the Final Tribal Council, whereas proceeding winners are revealed live, right before the live reunion show.
 * In 2008, Survivor host Jeff Probst mentioned in an interview that Richard Hatch smuggled a canister of matches onto Survivor: All-Stars "in a little container up his bum." The immediate result was that the Mogo Mogo tribe was able to get fire early on in the game. Since this incident all contestants are now strip searched.
 * His arrest was referenced by Jeff Probst during Panama's reunion show, when he told winner Aras Baskauskas, "Pay your taxes." Additionally, Hatch was invited to compete in Heroes vs. Villains, but a Rhode Island federal judge denied his request to leave the country.
 * In an interview in Rob Cesternino's Podcast, Hatch claimed that even in his incarceration, he never missed an episode of Survivor.
 * Tallest Survivor winner at 6'4".
 * Was originally going to be in Heroes vs Villains but he was denied by a federal judge because he was under house arrest.