The Gold & Silver Pawn Shop is a popular store in Las Vegas as it has featured on reality series Pawn Stars since 2009. The show’s success made the shop a tourist destination and Rick Harrison is the shrewd entrepreneur who owns the business. Currently, Rick Harrison has an estimated net worth of $9 million.
Early Life
Richard Harrison was born in Lexington, California, on March 22, 1965. His mother is Joanne Rhue, and his father is Richard Benjamin, aka “The Old Man”. Rick is one of their four children.
When he was just two years old, their family moved to San Diego. At eight, he experienced epileptic seizures and spent a lot of time in bed, which sparked a lifelong passion for reading. Later in his life, Rick has become virtually deaf.
In 1981, his family settled in Las Vegas and Richard went to Taft Middle School, but decided to drop out in the tenth grade to become a businessman.
Career Beginnings
Starting off, Rick sold fake designer bags as a side hustle. One of first real jobs was working for his father’s secondhand store called the Gold & Silver Coin Shop. Rick worked there during the day and at night, he repossessed cars. Not exactly a glamorous business!
In 1989, his father obtained the license to operate a pawn shop and rebranded the business to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. By 2006, the store had established a reputation for carrying rare sports memorabilia.
They also accept a lot of jewelry, particularly gold. Many of their customers are gamblers from the Las Vegas Strip and some will pawn items for gas money to get home.
Pawn Stars
The Gold & Silver Pawn Shop got featured in the Comedy Central show Insomniac with Dave Attell. After this, Rick spent four years pitching the idea of showcasing daily activities of a pawn shop in a reality series.
The History Channel picked up the idea, and Pawn Stars started airing in 2009. Aside from him and his dad, the show features their main employees: Corey Harrison and Chumlee.
In 2011, Pawn Stars became the highest-rated show on the History channel. The success of the show led him to open up a restaurant called “Rick’s Rollin Smoke BBQ and Tavern”. The restaurant is still in business today and has excellent reviews from thousands of customers.
Net Worth and Earnings
Rick Harrison makes an estimated $25,000 per episode on Pawn Stars. Apart from his television salary, he earns a significant amount as the sole owner of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. Sadly, Rick is being sued by his mother over family assets and ownership of the Las Vegas based pawn shop.
He was a co-owner of the store with his father until “The Old Man” passed away in 2018. This gives Rick a fortune worth $9 million, making him the richest cast member by a safe distance.
Personal Life
At 17, Rick Harrison got a lady named Kim pregnant. Kim had a miscarriage, but they still got married. The couple later had two sons, Corey and Adam, but they eventually divorced. Rick married Tracy Harrison in 1986 and their relationship ended in 2011.
In 2013, the celebrity pawnbroker got married for a third time to Deanna Burditt and once again filed for divorce in 2020. Rick is currently dating interior designer Tauna Harris, and he lives in an Oregon cabin.
