John continued his way to Studio Sport and TROS, where he learned the tricks of the trade as an assistant producer. At the age of twenty-three he had his big break with his program Showbiz quiz. The game show presented by Ron Brandstede.
Not easy early years
In 1978, De Mol announced that he would spread his wings at TROS and go his own way as an independent producer. However, the first years were not easy for his company John de Mol Producties, which suffered losses for seven consecutive years. After almost going bankrupt, businessman and presenter Willem van Kooten came to the rescue with financial support.
Breakthrough
In 1986, De Mol signed a high-profile contract with the British satellite station Sky Channel, with which he would conquer the European market with his own productions. The very first project he created for the channel was The DJ Kat Show, with his sister Linda playing an important role as co-presenter. Also productions like TROS Pop formula, Does it do it or doesn’t it do it? and the series Knit three, purl one followed. But the real highlight came in 1987 with the launch of the hospital series Medical Center West. The reality program launched in 1999 Big Brother ultimately meant an absolute worldwide breakthrough for Endemol. De Mol had an estimated fortune of approximately 2.1 billion euros in 2021.
