Chumlee Net Worth – the Life of a Silver Pawnshop Owner

Austin Lee Russell, better known as Chumlee, is an American reality TV show star and businessman. He rose to fame from the TV show called Pawn Stars which aired on a History Channel. The article will talk about Chumlee net worth, his show, and legal issues he faced recently.

Furthermore, in the Pawn Stars show, he shows the everyday business of the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, which is located in Las Vegas. This is the place where he works.

Also, he starts working at the pawnshop five years before he began to film for the first season. The shop is owned by Corey Harrison, who is a childhood friend of Chumlee. Harrison’s grandfather and father found this shop in the 90s.

Also, in the show, he exhibited a comic foil. However, sometimes he reviews things he knows about, such as sneakers, video games, and pinball machines.

Chumlee – Early Life

Austin was born on September 8, 1982, at Henderson in Nevada. He stated that he is part of Scottish origin on his Instagram post.

Chumlee was his nickname given to him by his family when he was 12 years old. This was due to his prominent chin and face.

Moreover, one of his friend’s fathers said that he looked a lot like “Chumley.” It is a walrus on an animated TV show called Tennessee Tuxedo.

Furthermore, when he was a child, one of his closest friends was Corey Harrison. Both Russell and Harrison’s families were friends as well.

Corey’s grandfather Richard Harrison and father Rick Harrison opened their shop in 1989 called Gold and Silver Pawnshop.

Personal Life

Austin loves to collect shoes and has about 200 pairs. Also, he enjoys skateboarding, video games, and sports. He especially likes “Pokémon Trading Card Game.” Moreover, he is a fan of both rap music and punk rock.

Also, he is a fan of American TV series such as Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, and Boardwalk Empire.

Furthermore, he loves to drive in his Buick Regal (1986). He even customized the car on the back and front with a lot of hydraulic lifts. Also, he owns Range Rover, Maserati Gran Turismo, Impala SS (1964), Rolls-Royce Phantom, and Cadillac Escalade.

In September 2013, Chumlee changed his lifestyle habits, and he lost 34 kg (75 lb) within a year. He went o the gym six days per week and then improved his diet. Moreover, he included in his diet more vegetables, drinking fruit juices, and cutting down on consuming red meat.

This change was inspired after his father died from pancreatic cancer at 54, just two weeks before the first episode of a new season of Pawn Stars.

Furthermore, his weight loss helped him ride his hovercraft he bought previously for the shooting of the pawn show. The maximum weight restriction was 100 kg (250 lb).

He used to weigh 145 kg (320 lb), and Chumlee now weighs 102 kg (225 lb).

Who Is Chumlee Wife?

Chumlee married his long-time girlfriend, Olive Rademann, in 2019 August. They started dating at the beginning of 2016. This was not a good year for him as he had legal issues. But Olivia was there for him through the whole thing and played a big part in getting him through this tough time.

Furthermore, in 2019 spring, the couple announced that they are engaged and soon will get married. There was also a pre-wedding part at one of the D Hotels’ Detroit Room.

Their family and friends were present there, along with his Pawn Stars co-hosts, Corey and Rick Harrison. They all celebrated this in Las Vegas styles.

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Moreover, in August, they married in Hawaii. He shared many pics from the trip, and one of them was him in a swimming suit. However, the site deleted his photo as it was inappropriate for the site.

Where is his wife?

In 2020 a lot of people started to think about where did Olivia go. It seems that in 2019 Chumlee shared a lot of pics with his wife. But at the beginning of 2020, he has deleted all the pics with his wife.

Chumlee’s Career

When he was only 21 years old, he started to work at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. As an employee at a shop, most of his duties were for behind-the-counter work such as loading items, writing bills for the items bought by the customers, and testing items.

He worked here for almost five years and then started filming the 1st season of the reality TV show Pawn Stars in 2009 July. Furthermore, in the show, he is portrayed as the comic foil, and often people made fun of him as he is unbaled to do work and lacked intelligence. Due to this, he is referred to as the “village idiot.”

He later explained that he is underestimated a lot and his expertise area is pinball machines. This he uses in the 2nd season on the episode called “Pinball Wizards.” Corey was surprised by it in the show as Chumlee showed something that he is well-informed about.

Furthermore, Chumlee became famous due to this episode and a fan favorite of this show.

His own company

After few seasons, the show becomes a huge success, and Chumlee created his own company. His company is about selling unique items such as his appearances and designs. The company played a huge role in Chumlee net worth.

In 2010, he sold half of the company’s stake to his friend’s father, Rick Harrison. He sold it for $155,000 so that the store can handle all the orders for his merch more professionally. Also, his sales of merch surpassed the others in the show as he gains more popularity.

All the members of Pawn Stars appeared as themselves on the American TV show iCarly in the episode called “iLost My Head in Vegas.”

In 2017 May, he opened a shop called “Chumlee’s Candy on the Boulevard,” which expand Chumlee net worth. This candy shop is in Las Vegas, opposite Gold, and Silver Pawn Shop.

Chumlee net worth

Most of Chumlee net worth comes from the show Pawn Stars. For each episode, he charges 25,000 dollars.

Moreover, as of 2021, Chumlee net worth is 5 million dollars.

Austin Chumlee Russell’s Cars

Russell has a fantastic collection of cars such as a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a Range Rover, a Cadillac Escalade, and a 1964 Impala SS.

How does Chumlee spend most of his money?

Chumlee made a name for himself in this television industry. He is best known for his show Pawn Stars, and he is known for his unique interest in collecting shoes and pinball machines.

Legal Issues

On March 9, 2016, the police raided Austin’s house for an investigation and inquiry into sexual harassment allegations. During the search, the cops found marijuana, meth, crystal, Xanax, and various firearms.

Also, there was evidence that there was cocaine in the house. He was arrested for it, and the next day he was released on bond. Chumlee’s first appearance in court was on March 11, 2016.

On May 23, 2016, there were charges with more than 15 felony counts, including weapons and drug use. His lawyer, David Chesnoff, said that Austin has pled guilty for the felony weapons charges (illegally owning a gun or firearm) and using multiple drugs. He then got three years of counseling and probation.

Three Life Lessons from Chumlee Russell

Now we know about Chumlee net worth and how he become successful, let’s look at what we learned from his life.

#1 Do not give up ever

You should never give up, and things will eventually fall into the right place. Always work hard for your goals and stay honest with yourself even when no one believes in you. So, no matter what happens, always stay focused on the goal.

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#2 Stay Positive Always

He said that sometimes fame does go to your head. But he stated that one needs to stay positive and remember two things: he won’t be anywhere without his fans, and it is easy to be happy.

Moreover, you need to work hard, be courageous and strong. People will try to put you down but believe in yourself.

#3 Find a Hobby

As we can see, Austin loves to collect shoes and pinball machines and is highly passionate about it. Getting a hobby will make your life easier.

Highlights of Chumlee’s Life

These are the greatest highlights of Chumlee’s career:

  • Pawn Stars reality series from 2009 – present
  • His candy shop in Las Vegas in 2017
  • Owning multiple high-profile cars

Pawn Stars Show

We have already talked about Chumlee’s role in the show, but tell us to briefly describe the show and other co-stars.

It is one of the longest-running shows on American TV and has almost 300 episodes as of 2021. The premise of the show is simple.

Moreover, the Harrison family owns the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop at Las Vegas in Nevada.

On each episode, people will offer typical antique items that may or may not be accurate. They will determine the value of these pieces and then negotiate whether they want to take the deal or not.

Furthermore, by adding some hijinks and antics to the show, it becomes the highest-rated series on the History Channel. Also, Pawn Stars is the most profitable series on the channel.

It brings almost $3 million every episode for History Channel. Despite this, we don’t know the net worth of the show or how much Gold and Silver Pawnshop net worth is.

The other members of the show:

Rick Harrison

He wanted to convert the store into an entertainment business. Moreover, the shop received its first success and national fame when featured in “Insomniac with Dave Attell,” a popular show on Comedy Central.

Dave Attell visited the shop personally when he went to Las Vegas. He discovered that a unique group of people ran the shop.

Furthermore, they gain popularity after appearing on Dave Attell’s show; Rick Harrison (Richard’s son) went to different production houses to get a full-time show. The net worth of Rick Harrison is 8 million dollars.

He obtained this much net worth most due to the tv series. However, he also has invested in other ventures that added to his net worth.

In 2013 June, he opened a counter called “Express Pawn” where people can visit and shop from there as the main store is only for filming purposes. Also, they have more space for regular visitors, which might be about 5,000 on some days.

Rick even told Forbes about his investment. His investment distribution is 80% in the Blue-Chip companies, 10% for his shop, and he did not disclose the remaining. He also owns a Quizno.

Richard Harrison

On March 4, 1941, Richard was born and was known as the “Old Man” on the Pawn Stars show. He opened this shop with his son Rick in 1989. Since then, the shop is open every day of the week and 24/7.

The Harrison family makes 15,000 dollars per episode, and he has no plan on retiring soon.

Corey “Big Hoss” Harrison

Corey Harrison is the son of Rick Harrison, and he is the Big Hoss of the Pawn Stars show. His net worth is 2.5 million dollars.

In most of the episode, Corey and Rick play father and son, who have some tension. He even threatened that he would leave if he does no receive his ownership equity.

Ultimately, Rick offered and relented him 5% ownership of the company. He also works with his father on many entrepreneurial ventures such as “Express Pawn.”

Along with Chumlee, these 3 are part of the Pawn Stars show.

Final thoughts

Chumlee is an American reality TV star and businessman who got famous after appearing on the Pawn Stars show on History Channel. Due to this show, Chumlee net worth now is 5 million dollars.

Moreover, he started to work in a shop at the age of 21. His duty as an employee was to write tickets for things purchased by the people, load the items, and check them.

Also, he has shown he is a brilliant businessman as well. In recent years Chumlee has set up various business ventures.

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