From flipping mansions to Vegas expansions, Bill Rancic seems to be living the high life,
but is he?? Here's what's really going on with Bill Rancic today.
In 2012, Bill Rancic and his wife Giuliana opened their first restaurant in Chicago featuring
Italian fare. Viewers of their reality show, "Giuliana and Bill" weren't surprised, as they'd
grown accustomed to seeing and hearing about the fabulous Italian cooking of Giuliana's mother.
"How long do I have to leave the tomato cooking in the pot, and does it…"
"Giuliana, I think 30 minutes. Yeah. Fine."
However, the restaurant's name, RPM, wasn't exactly what fans had expected. Everyone
thought he'd name it after Guiliana's mom, Mama DePandi. Since the business was a joint venture
between the Rancics and other people, the name combines the initials of all partners.
RPM soon began branching out into the steak, seafood, and events markets,
opening four eateries in other cities, including Washington,
D.C. But Bill had set his sights on opening a location in Vegas for years. He realized that
dream in 2022, when he and Giuliana opened RPM Italian on the famous Las Vegas Strip.
During the publicity blitz for Bill Rancic's RPM Italian in Vegas, Rancic told KTLA 5
Morning News that he and his wife Giuliana felt very confident about opening in Vegas.
"When it comes to food, we don't play. We get the best ingredients from all over the world, we make
all of our pastas from scratch every morning. [...] A lot of celebrity-owned restaurants
may not take the food that seriously, but our mission since day one is food and people first."
"The service will blow you away. The food will get you coming back time and time again."
Despite the fact that Rancic's restaurant didn't bear her name,
Mama DePandi is still incredibly influential to the restaurant's dishes. Bill Rancic's wife
Giuliana was born in Italy and grew up on home cooked Italian food. So it made sense that when
the celebrity couple entered the restaurant business, they'd want to feature some of
Mama DePandi's recipes. As Bill and Giuliana explained on The Kelly Clarkson Show — while
doing a quick tutorial on how to make the dish Bucatini Pomodoro at home — Giuliana's
mom worked closely and meticulously with the restaurant's chefs to duplicate her recipe.
"Over 30 tries to get this exact dish perfect."
"Oh I like, she was picky. She was like, 'not yet.'"
And the effort obviously paid off,
because RPM's Bucatini Pomodoro is the restaurant's best-selling dish.
Bill also told Kelly Clarkson that the couple's son, Duke,
absolutely loves the bucatini and eats it all the time.
Lots of people start businesses. Unfortunately,
many don't achieve the level of success they seek. Nobody will argue that today's
business environment is a difficult one. And yet, Bill Rancic has done well at
almost everything he's attempted — and he's happy to share his knowledge with others.
Rancic is represented by the Harry Walker Agency, a renowned speaking agency that brings the world's
best speakers to events where they can showcase their skills and personalities. According to the
HWA, it's Rancic's ability to change and try new things that makes him different.
Rancic is also on the roster at the Washington Speakers Bureau,
a powerhouse agency for journalists, politicians, entertainers, and more. According to his page on
the WSB website, Rancic's speaking fee is $25,000-$40,000 — not too shabby.
Rancic clearly had something special, and others want to hear what he's got to say. That's why,
in October 2022, he spoke at a summit in Chicago about building wealth. He's also
the keynote speaker at the Experiential Designers and
Producers Association conference in San Antonio in November and December 2022.
Bill Rancic may be known to millions of people for winning "The Apprentice"
and being a fancy restaurateur, but he's also a superstar house flipper.
A 2020 article in Dirt discusses Bill and Giuliana Rancic's 8,300-square-foot
Brentwood Park mansion in Los Angeles, which they renovated and sold for $10.7 million in October
of that year — which is $3 million more than they paid just two years earlier. The article
also states that the Rancics have flipped many other homes during their time together,
and that they lived in Chicago and maintained a vacation home in Idaho at the time.
But that was 2020, and house flippers like the Rancics can't be pinned down. How do we
know that? Because an article from February 2022 on Realtor.com reveals that the power
couple sold the house in Idaho for $5.6 million after extensive renovations. The actual price
paid by the Rancics for the property in 2016 is unknown, but it had been listed at $1.85
million. So even if they paid that, they most likely walked away with a nice profit.
In a heartwarming video interview with Jason Kennedy at E! News, Bill Rancic discusses
raising his son Duke. Kennedy points out that despite Rancic's incredibly busy schedule,
he still makes time to be an excellent father. Kennedy even claims that his
own wife wants him to imitate Rancic's parenting style if he ever becomes a dad.
"And my wife says it all the time. Lauren's like
'Bill is the best dad. Can you be like Bill when we have a kid.'"
Rancic gives a lot of credit to his own parents and their
strong sense of values. He says his father was always there for him,
and was very generous with his time. He calls his mother a "rock" who he
continues to reach out to for guidance, and says he tries to pass that on to Duke.
Finally, Rancic shares with Kennedy that despite being a competitive adult, he's learned more about
life from his mistakes than his successes, and that he tries to communicate that to Duke as well.
"Your son is behind us."
"Oh my God. Duke! I did not know Duke was right there."
Upon the launch of RPM Italian in Vegas in 2022,
Bill and Giuliana Rancic did a huge amount of publicity. Coincidentally,
Bill's birthday fell right around the date of the restaurant's grand opening.
In a video interview with Lauren Kelly of KPRC, the celebrity couple laughs about
the odd gifts Giuliana has given Bill in the past. Giuliana claims Bill is terribly
hard to shop for because he always says he doesn't want anything. But that year,
Giuliana thought she'd come up with the best gift idea for Bill ever: She'd take
him shopping at the beautiful, prestigious shops adjacent to the restaurant. His response?
"No. He's like, 'Let's just sit and chat.' I'm like, 'Sit and chat? I want to give
you a beautiful gift.' And he didn't want to do it. He didn't want to go shopping."
That's pretty sweet if you ask us!
Bill Rancic certainly seems to love and support his wife in sickness, health,
and pretty much all else. Marriage and long-term relationships are difficult for everyone,
of course. And although we don't know firsthand, we get the sense that living
in a household with two celebrity schedules can be extremely stressful.
Still, in October 2022, Bill and Giuliana co-hosted her annual Pink Agenda gala to
raise funds for breast cancer. Giuliana is a breast cancer survivor, and in March 2012,
after her double mastectomy, she and Bill spoke in detail with Glamour about how the
ordeal affected them as a couple, and how Bill was there to support Giuliana through the worst days.
The Rancics have also made their share of mistakes. You don't need to search very hard
to find things they've said publicly — Giuliana in particular — that have
caused outrage, distress, and hurt. Yes, she has apologized profusely,
but certain types of pain aren't easily forgotten. Despite all the media outcry,
however, Bill appeared on the "Today" show shortly thereafter and defended his wife,
saying the situation had actually been beneficial to their marriage. We've also seen him post
proudly on Instagram about staying home with Duke to watch Giuliana work the red carpet on TV.
Bill and Giuliana Rancic shared with E! News that their first child,
Edward Rancic – AKA Duke – was born via surrogate in 2012. Then, in 2015,
Giuliana told People that the last of the couple's embryos — also implanted in a surrogate — had been
lost to miscarriage. During that interview, Guiliana called adoption "a beautiful gift."
Years later, Giuliana announced on Instagram in 2019 that she wouldn't be moving to New
York to continue her longtime co-hosting job with "E! News Online." She said her decision
was based on many things, including a commitment to her family – with a telling bit of phrasing.
"Nothing is more important than spending time with my family, which we are hoping to grow soon."
In 2020, in another interview with People, Giuliana said,
"We would love to expand our family. We always wanted to
and that dream is definitely still alive."
With his tremendous wealth, you'd hope Bill Rancic would want to give back to the world that's been
so good to him — and based on appearances, he does. According to Look to the Stars,
Bill and his wife Giuliana do a lot of work to support Operation Smile, a well-known charity
providing reconstructive surgery to children born with facial deformities. He also donated all
proceeds from his book "Beyond the Lemonade Stand" to charity. The book is Rancic's attempt to teach
kids about money and how to start recognizing their potential when they're still young.
Bill and Giuliana also host an annual gala for The Pink Agenda in New York,
most recently in October 2022 at Tribeca Rooftop. The Pink Agenda,
a favorite charity of the Rancics, raises funds for breast cancer research while
also promoting awareness of the disease. After Giuliana's battle with breast cancer,
she acknowledged that the opportunity to wear beautiful clothing and makeup during her darkest
days helped her psychologically. This led her to create FAB-U-WISH, which provides beauty
treatments and other self-affirming experiences for people suffering from breast cancer.
Finally, according to Look to the Stars,
Bill also supports causes such as disaster relief and homelessness.
It's heartwarming to find a celebrity couple that just likes spending time
with each other, and it's even sweeter when they've been married for so long.
In August 2022, Bill Rancic and his wife Giuliana celebrated their 15th
wedding anniversary. That's an achievement for any couple,
not to mention the fact that both partners in a marriage are celebrities — and considering
that Bill jokingly "proposed" to Giuliana the first time they ever met, on camera.
"Do you want to get married? What do you guys think?"
"What do you guys think? Do we make a good couple?"
What's their secret? In an interview with People in 2018, they talk about the importance of doing
fun things even when traveling together for business—especially when their son
accompanies them. And when they need to be apart, they communicate as much as possible
over FaceTime. They're also quick to dispel any rumors that their marriage is in trouble.
And honestly, they seem legitimately happy. Maybe it's the little things that make all
the difference, like when Bill brings Giuliana her coffee in bed every day,
just as Bill's father did for Bill's mom when Rancic was a child.