Gold Rush is among America’s most popular reality television shows. One of its primary cast members is miner and fan-favorite Parker Schnabel. He has been on every season of the show since it started in 2010. Thanks to its success, Parker has starred in the spin-off series Gold Rush: Parker’s Trail. As of 2023, Parker Schnabel has a net worth of $10 million.
Early Life
Parker Russell Schnabel was born on July 22, 1994, to Roger and Nancy in Haines, Alaska. His grandfather, John Schnabel, was the owner of the Big Nugget, a legendary mining corporation. John played a pivotal role in Parker’s career in mining. He also has a brother, Payson who sometimes features in the series.
Parker spent his summers at the mine with his grandfather and the experience fuelled his passion for finding gold nuggets. In high school, he was a part of the varsity basketball team. Considering his height, this doesn’t surprise us!
Mining Career
After graduating from high school, his grandfather stepped down from running the Big Nugget Mine and Parker took over daily operations. At 16, he led a crew of miners more than twice his age and demonstrated his raw leadership skills.
However, Parker left the Big Nugget Mine and skipped college to mine in Yukon, Canada. Parker Schnabel traveled up to the Klondike at the age of 18 and leased land from the famed miner, Tony Beets. He used money from his college trust fund to start the operation.
Reality Television
In 2010, the mining prodigy appeared on the first season of Gold Rush. Despite his youth, Parker was confident and cocky. He made a name for himself helping Todd Hoffman’s crew mining at Porcupine Creek, Most of Todd’s crew had limited mining experience.
Parker discovered 1029 ounces of gold in the first year of running his own mining operation. His story and personality are a key part of the show and without him, it would struggle for viewers!
Apart from the first Gold Rush, he also appeared in two spin-off series. From 2012 to 2016, he featured in “Gold Rush: The Dirt.” He also earned his own show titled “Gold Rush: Parker’s Trail”, which began airing in 2017.
Net Worth and Earnings
Parker Schnabel is estimated to make $25,000 for every episode of Gold Rush. This is more than enough money to compensate for the hassle of dealing with a camera crew. Of course, there are also the profits from mining gold. It’s a tough business to make money in but Parker is a shrewd operator.
By 24 years old, he had already extracted over $13 million worth of gold. Parker pays his crew $34 per hour and also has a lot of expenses to cover such as royalties, machinery and fuel. Taking this into account, Parker’s fortune is estimated to be $10 million. This makes him the second richest miner on the show behind Tony Beets.
Personal Life
Schnabel once dated a veterinary nurse named Ashley Youle, but they split up in 2018. The following year, he got into a relationship with assistant producer Sheena Cowell. Currently, Parker is not married and is believed to be single. There were rumors he was dating Australian Tyler Mahoney but they were false.
There were also reports online that Parker lives in a mansion in Alaska. Young Schnabel responded to the claims saying he doesn’t own a house and is technically homeless. It doesn’t make sense for him to buy a property as he likes to travel.
