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'Celebrity Apprentice' Winner 2015: Leeza Gibbons Beats Geraldo Rivera

Leeza Gibbons at NBC Universal's party after the 72nd annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 11, 2015. | REUTERS/Phil McCarten

Talk show host Leeza Gibbons is riding high after she was crowned the "Celebrity Apprentice" seventh season winner after she beat fellow talk show host Geraldo Rivera by raising more money for her charity.

Gibbons and Rivera were the show's last two surviving contestants who had been fierce competitors throughout. Many viewers had come to the conclusion over the weeks that Gibbons was the much nicer contestant.

The seventh season of "Celebrity Apprentice" had its fair share of dramatic moments, thanks to contestants such as Kenya Moore and Brandi Glanville who were eliminated earlier. When Moore and Glanville were still on the show, they regularly made headlines with their spats. Many were relieved when they exited.

A total of 16 contestants took part this season. Donald Trump fired 15 before he picked Gibbons as the "apprentice" and hired her.

Trump described Gibbons as an "overachiever" and a "woman who had a passion" for her charity Leeza's Care Connection. This pleased Gibbons who stated that she was "so excited, and it was kind of a cool moment, my feet weren't touching the ground. I didn't know when I would come back down to Earth."

Gibbons also mentioned that she managed to avoid the drama during the finale which she said helped her win. She raised $324,000 for her charity while Rivera raised $146,000 for his charity Life's WORC.

As for the other contestants on the show, they were quick to point out that Gibbons was well liked by her team, unlike Rivera. Lorenzo Lamas, one of the contestants, described Rivera as a "cold wind and you have to shelter yourself at first because it's snappy."

In total, Rivera did manage to raise $725,000 for his charity, which was more than the amount of $446,000 that Gibbons raised. However, Gibbons won on the basis of the wide difference in the final amounts raised, in her favor.