Tony Beets is one of Klondike’s most renowned gold miners. He runs one of the biggest mining operations in the Yukon and has become a reality TV star thanks to the Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush. The eccentric Dutchman came to Canada in the 1980s with just $300 and didn’t even speak English. Tony Beets now has an estimated net worth of $15 million! This makes him the richest miner on Gold Rush by a clear distance.
Early Life
Tony Beets was born on December 15, 1959 in Wijdenes, Netherlands – a small village in the north of the country. Beets grew up on a farm as a kid and worked as a farmer for six years before moving to Canada. He moved to Canada in 1980, he worked as a dairy farmer for a year and then as a Pipeliner for three years.
It wasn’t until 1984 that he got his first taste of gold mining, working for the Klondike Gold Corporation as a machine operator. After two years of learning the ropes, he went out on his own. Little did he know, he would become one of Canada’s most successful gold producers.
Mining Career
Beets started Tamarack Inc. in 1986 and started mining in the Yukon. He started off with one claim and kept on reinvesting profits back into the business to scale operations. His wife Minnie handles the finances, and together they run a tight ship.
His company is well-known for employing local teenagers but many can’t handle the tough working conditions. Beets and his crew labor 12 to 14 hours a day during the seven-month gold mining season.
It was during the second season of Gold Rush that Tony’s experience was deemed helpful. He started out by showing cast member Todd Hoffman how to drill test holes. Over his career, he has mined well over $40 million worth of gold. On his Eureka Creek claim in 2018, he discovered a cool $4.39 million worth of gold.
Gold Rush
Since his television debut in 2010, Beets has been a regular cast member on the show. He has now appeared in over 160 episodes and also starred in the documentary miniseries “Gold Fever,” which aired in 2013.
He is best known for his part in the fifth season of his main show when he spent $1 million for the Viking Dredge in Clear Creek. It was a risky move, but many believed in the Dutchman’s expertise since he’s been in the business for a considerable time.
With that, one can also assume that Beets has made a fortune just from appearing on camera. According to reports, the main cast members are paid $10,000 – $25,000 per episode. And Tony is one of the show’s highest-paid members, earning $25,000 every episode.
Personal Life
When they were just children, Tony met his future wife, Minnie. While growing up in Burgwerd, Friesland, the two lived next door to one other. They fell in love and began dating in 1978.
Tony was 24 years old, and Minnie was 23 years old when they married. Kevin, Monica, Mike, and Bianca are their four children who are all involved in the family business. They also had a daughter, Jasmine, who died at the age of two and a half months in 1992.
The “King of the Klondike” now lives in Arizona with his wife and children in a winter house. Furthermore, Tony Beets is said to be the owner of a $145,000 Mercedes convertible.
