From disappointments early in his career, such as failing to find anything in Al Capone's vault, to his controversy-ridden talk show, Geraldo (in 1988, his nose was broken by neo-Nazi guests on the show), Rivera has proven that he's never permanently down for the count. His current role, as the host of Rivera Live, a high-minded legal show, is the highest-rated program on CNBC.

After graduating from the University of Arizona and Brooklyn Law School, Geraldo began his TV journalism career in 1970, with a stint on New York's WABC-TV's Eyewitness News. While at WABC, he produced a series of ten investigative reports on the horrible conditions at the Willowbrook State School for the mentally ill; the 1972 expose led to court intervention and the closing of much of the institution. He subsequently hosted Good Night America on ABC from 1974 to 1976, and also worked as a reporter for Good Morning America. In 1978, he began working for ABC's 20/20, a job that would take him well into the 1980s. He finally left 20/20 in order to produce live specials for the newly-formed Investigative News Group, and in 1987, began hosting his own talk show, Geraldo.

In 1997, Rivera inked a six-year, $30 million deal with NBC News, which, in addition to Rivera Live, guarantees him four prime-time specials a year for NBC News, and appearances on the Today show as a legal commentator. In signing this contract, Geraldo seems eager to put his tabloid past behind him and regain respect as a serious journalist.