How Much The Pawn Stars Are Actually Worth
Pawn Stars has clued viewers in on how much a Babe Ruth baseball, a suit once worn by George Washington, a Super Bowl ring, and more are worth since the mega-hit series first premiered on the History Channel in 2009. The show has given fans a behind-the-scenes look at the pawn shop industry and some of the cool things people buy and sell within it. In addition to sticking around as one of the longest-running reality TV shows and doubling in length from 30 to 60 minutes in 2019's season 16, its success led to multiple spin-off shows, like Pawn Stars UK and the ill-fated Cajun Pawn Stars. The series has also allowed the network itself to bank a reported $3 million per episode, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Basically, the History Channel struck gold when it discovered the inimitable Harrison family — the late grandfather Richard "Old Man" Harrison, son Rick Harrison, grandson Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison, and family friend Austin "Chumlee" Russell — who run the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. The three generations of Harrison men and their experts have undeniably had a sharp eye for differentiating valuables from straight-up junk. However, one may wonder how much money they've put in their own pockets while wheeling and dealing. How much are these Pawn Stars actually worth? You might be surprised.
Richard 'Old Man' Harrison
Also known as the "Old Man," Richard Harrison was the sharp-as-a-tack grandfather and patriarch of the Harrison family. He sadly passed away at the age of 77 on June 25, 2018, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. According to History, Harrison had an estimated net worth of $5 million prior to his death.
The Old Man can be credited for bringing the Harrisons to Las Vegas, where the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop was born in the late '80s. The Navy veteran had decided to try his luck in the Sin City after losing $1 million in the real estate market, per his History Channel biography. He'd opened the shop up with a small investment of just $10,000, and the rest is history. After Pawn Stars started airing, sales at the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop went up nearly 30 percent with an average monthly revenue of $750,000, according to The New York Times. Luckily, network executives had listened to the Old Man's son, Rick Harrison, who'd insisted that Pawn Stars would make for good television. "People would tell me that nobody wants to watch a show about four fat guys in a pawn shop," he told Fox News in 2019. "All of a sudden I was on TV and we had the highest-rated premiere History ever had at the time."
Rick Harrison
While Rick Harrison has an estimated net worth of $8 million (via History), he didn't always live with a hefty bank account. "My dad was in the military, which meant he was overseas a lot and I had a working mom," he told Forbes in 2013. "Being a middle-class family back in the 1970s meant we only had one TV ... and it wasn't in your room ... so when I was 8-years-old, I began developing a passion for reading history, and it's never stopped." Five years later, a 13-year-old Harrison was already learning the family business with his father. According to CBS News, he was a full-time member of the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop team by age 23.
But the real question is, how much did the show help boost Harrison's own pocketbook? Well, it sounds like a lot. Explaining to CBS News that he'd initially hoped for "a season or two to help our business," Harrison admittedly never thought the show would go on to air "in 152 countries and 38 languages." The reality TV star later told Fox News, "When Pawn Stars started, the shop was averaging about 70 people a day, and now, we average thousands."
Corey 'Big Hoss' Harrison
Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison has proven he's inherited some of dad Rick's top-notch negotiating skills. According to Screen Rant, he once received a percentage in equity of the family business after threatening to leave if they didn't give him some ownership. Clearly, this has only helped his bank account as he reportedly has an estimated net worth of $5 million. It does seem like the younger Harrison kind of earned it though, considering he started working at the shop when he was just 9 years old, eventually working his way up the ranks to becoming manager of its day-to-day operations, according to his History Channel biography.
While the family business has been lucrative, Harrison has also tried other avenues to bring in money. He and longtime friend-coworker Austin "Chumlee" Russell have been known to cash in $1,000 a night for club appearances, according to CNN. As dad Rick told the media outlet in 2011, "Club owners know that once they start tweeting their location for the night, hundreds of people show up to see them." Corey Harrison also purchased the Beauty Bar Las Vegas with a friend in 2014 (via the Las Vegas Weekly). When the business temporarily lost its liquor license five years later, the reality TV star told Las Vegas Review-Journal that he'd already sold off his shares the previous December. Perhaps he realized he should just stick to the family business?
Austin 'Chumlee' Russell
When family friend Austin "Chumlee" Russell isn't out doing his thing in the club with Corey Harrison, he's still depositing plenty of dollar bills into his own bank account. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Russell has accumulated an estimated net worth of $5 million ... meaning this guy quite literally hit the jackpot when he became besties with the Harrison family. Still, the television personality, who's known for his love of sneakers and designer duds, has remained pretty humble about his fame and fortune, telling the Las Vegas Sun in 2014, "I am very lucky, and I realize that every day I wake up." He added, "I'm just like the others, riding this out. What's next? I have no idea right now. I'm just enjoying the ride."
While starring on Pawn Stars was clearly a lucky break for Russell, he's also branched out to other business opportunities. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that he and brother Sage opened Chumlee's Candy in 2017, where fans can buy a Chumlee Chocolate Bar and Old Man's Coffee, or, if they're lucky, even catch the reality star for a photo at the whimsical store. Who wouldn't want a candy bar with Chumlee's face on it?
Rick Dale
Restoration expert Rick Dale was featured on Pawn Stars just before the History Channel gave him a spin-off show called American Restoration in 2010. The show initially focused on his own business, Rick's Restorations, which restores vintage and antique items, before highlighting other companies in 2016. Still, Dale has the respectable bank account to show for his televised success. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he's earned an estimated net worth of $2.5 million.
In an interview with The Spruce Crafts in 2019, Dale revealed that he caught the restoration bug at the age of nine while working on a bicycle given to him by his dad. Soon enough, he was working on cars and eventually vintage items, saying, "It just all came together." That first bicycle may not have earned him that $2.5 million, but hey, you've got to start somewhere. And even though Dale's spin-off spotlight didn't last, Rick Harrison himself raved about Dale's expertise to Entertainment Weekly in 2010. "Rick is unbelievable," he said. "I'm telling you, he could make a nail look beautiful if he wanted to ... His business is called Rick's Restorations, but it really should be called Rick's Art."
Danny 'Count' Koker
Another Pawn Stars expert who's not exactly strapped for cash is Danny "Count" Koker, who reportedly has an estimated net worth of $13 million (via Celebrity Net Worth). How'd he make his fortune? Well, he's led multiple business ventures, including Count's Vamp'd rock bar and Count's Tattoo Co., according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Oh, and Koker was also lucky enough to get his own History Channel spin-off series, Counting Cars. Between 2012 and 2016, it chronicled the daily activities of Counts Kustoms, which restores and customizes cars and motorcycles.
In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2013, Koker revealed that the business' popularity exploded after Counting Cars began airing, saying, "On any given day here at the shop, you can meet people literally from around the world that show up here." As for how he got started in this niche career, Koker noted on his business' website that he's a "self-taught mechanic [who] grew up in Cleveland and Detroit with family blood lines that gifted him with the innate love of all things automotive." He sure taught himself well.
Mark Hall-Patton
With his signature red shirt, Amish hat, and large-rimmed glasses, Mark Hall-Patton quickly became a well-known expert on Pawn Stars. Rick Harrison himself nicknamed Hall-Patton "the Beard of Knowledge," telling the Los Angeles Times in 2014, "The guy knows so much stuff; he must have a Xerox machine inside his eyeballs."
Since fellow experts like Danny Koker and Rick Dale got their own spin-off series, fans may have wondered what Hall-Patton got out of appearing on the show. Well, apparently not much — at least financially. Harrison told the Las Vegas Sun in 2010, "We don't pay the experts and most live right here in Las Vegas." In lieu of a personal business to promote on Pawn Stars, Hall-Patton's day job is curating the Clark County Museum — a gig that has doubtfully earned him any of the millions the others have accumulated over the years. While we don't know exactly what Hall-Patton is worth, we do know that the museum saw an almost 70 percent increase in attendance since 2012 (via the Los Angeles Times). Perhaps this earned him a bonus or at the very least a thank you card?
While shooting the pilot episode of Pawn Stars, Hall-Patton admittedly wondered, per the Los Angeles Times, "Who on earth is going to watch this?" Still, he hasn't taken his rise to fame too seriously, telling the publication, "I've seen the Beatles; I know what real celebrity is. I'm just a bloody museum director."
Rebecca Romney
Pawn Stars made rare book expert Rebecca Romney a household name when she became the Harrisons' go-to person whenever someone brought a dusty old book into the shop. Who can tell if a book with wilted pages and barely legible print is worth anything? Apparently, Romney can! And she must be pretty darn good at it, because she has a net worth of $3.5 million, according to the Celebrity Net Worth Reporter. Similarly to her co-stars' other ventures, business at the Bauman Rare Books gallery got a major boost after Romney first appeared on the show in 2011. "We do see a lot more volume because of Pawn Stars, which is really nice," she told Deadline in 2014. "Not to mention, thanks to the show, history sometimes just walks in the door."
While Romney eventually left Bauman Rare Books "to pursue other projects, including a podcast on books called Biblioclast," according to her website, she's continued to add to her bank account by becoming a rare book dealer at Honey and Wax Booksellers in 2016 and publishing her own book called Printer's Error the following year.