Most successful Gold Rush Cast: Ranked!

Gold Rush is a reality series that was originally released on the Discovery Channel. It is based on the lives several gold prospectors, who, scour various regions in search of gold nuggets.

These miners often put their lives on hold, and at risk to try and find gold. Suffice it to say, the show has garnered thousands of fans across its impressive run.

With the advent of every new season, the showrunners try to raise the stakes by introducing new miners, equipment, and claims. We are here to find out which Gold Rush Cast members have been the most successful throughout the show’s run.

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   Parker Schnabel

Parker Schnabel is easily the most successful gold miner on the show. It is not surprising when you discover that mining runs in his blood.

Parker is descended from legendary gold prospector, John Schnabel, who is fondly remembered for founding Big Nugget Mines. This would provide the perfect platform for Parker to develop his mining and leadership skills over the years.

In fact, Parker would be put in charge of the family business when he was just 16 years old! Despite being so young, experience is something Parker commanded in droves. In some cases, he’d even step in to stop other mining groups from making drastic mistakes.

Another thing that made Schnabel very successful was the fact that he always learned from his mistakes. His first season on the job only saw Parker and his crew bring in 39 ounces of gold.

Flashforward to the seventh season of the show, and Parker managed to excavate a record breaking 7509 ounces of gold that year alone. Since Parker Schnabel first burst on to the scenes, he has managed to find approximately 39,910 ounces of gold. To put it into context, this brought him around $67.8 million.

2. Tony Beets

Before Parker Schnabel stepped into the frame, Tony Beets was the wealthiest cast member on Gold Rush. With a net worth of $15 million, it is not difficult to see why he was at the very top of the food chain.

Beets first popped up during the second season of Gold Rush, a move that came about after the Hoffman crew shifted their operation to Dawson City. Similar to most prospectors on the show, Tony has experienced a great deal of wins and losses.

Beets’ aggressive approach to the industry has not exactly made him any friends. It explains why he mostly works with his family.

With the help of his wife Minnie and his daughter Monica, Beets was able to bring home an impressive 4,400 ounces of gold during the ninth season of the show. It marked a personal best for Beets at the time.

Throughout the years, Tony Beets would run the most consistent mining outfit in America. By our last count, Beets has managed to uncover over 16,261 ounces of gold, totalling to $28.9 million in revenue.

3. The Hoffmans

The Hoffmans are a mining family led by former Oregon entrepreneur, Todd Hoffman. Unfortunately, his mining career has often been highlighted by misfortune rather than success. Moreover, some people deemed him a tad overconfident, especially for someone who didn’t have a lot of experience at the time.

Todd teamed up with his old man, Jack Hoffman, who, had acquired his own claim back in the mid-80s. Unfortunately, that claim did not yield any significant returns, and he ultimately had to shut the operation down.

The Hoffmans first season on the show only ended in about 15 ounces of gold in their pockets. Though their crew would steadily improve, they would hit another snag during the fourth season of Gold Rush.

They took a trip to Guyana, where they tried to take on the very dangerous South American Jungle. Todd was hoping that they’d be able to bring home a significant amount of gold.

Instead, they only managed to find about 2 ounces of gold. Unsurprisingly, Todd and his crew shifted their attention back to the Yukon Region. Smarting from their previous failures, Todd managed to excavate 3,032 ounces of gold in the show’s fifth season.

In total, it is estimated that Todd’s crew has collected 8,039 ounces of gold ($13.4 million).

4. Rick Ness

Rick Ness is a former musician turned gold miner who found work as a member of Parker Schnabel’s crew. For over seven years, the two worked together, often butting heads but also recording impressive returns.

It is fair to say that Ness was not exactly a man shot of confidence. He often relied on his keen insight and hunches to evaluate the validity of various claims.

Unfortunately, one of these hunches would prove to the final straw between Rick and Parker during the eighth season of the show. His mistake cost the team $50,000, prompting Rick to finally venture out on his own.

By the ninth season, Rick Ness was running his own crew, making him Parker’s direct rival. After bringing in Freddy Dodge to help with the equipment, Rick managed to dig up around 1,100 ounces of gold.

Over the next three seasons, he would pull in a grand total of 2,732 ounces of gold, which is valued at $4.8 million. Sadly, Rick Ness left the show after season 12.

5. The Hurts

Fred and Dustin Hurt are a father and son duo often referred to as the Dakota Boys. Though they have been on Gold Rush since it first aired, the duo didn’t really become established cast members until the second season.

Their permanent inclusion on the show coincided with the Hurts decision to acquire the Porcupine Creek Mine. This came at the expense of the Hoffman family, who, were undercut on this occasion.

Like the Hoffmans before them, Fred and Dustin also tried to find the elusive glory hole. This was an alleged gold reserve located at the bottom of a vast ravine.

Unsurprisingly, their work on this claim was filled with problems from the outset. Even so, the Hurts stuck it out, eventually recording 280 ounces of gold by the start of the fourth season.

In total, Fred and Dustin managed to mine 523 ounces of gold during their time on Gold Rush. The value of this roughly $930,000, which tells you hard they worked in just shy of three seasons.

6. Freddy Dodge

Freddy Dodge is a miner who was brought on to Gold Rush during the show’s third season. His popularity in the industry stems from the fact that he is considered a fixer, the man you bring in when you are in trouble.

It explains why Todd Hoffman hired Freddy to accompany them to Guyana to excavate a claim in the South American Forest. However, even Dodge’s expertise couldn’t save the Hoffmans this time.

He’d eventually decide to go back to the Klondike, which, promised a better return than the forest. Though Freddy’s total output was tallied, we can confirm that he has managed to maintain a net worth of $1 million.

7. Dave Turin

Dave Turin is an experienced miner and quarry expert who has also worked as a member of the Hoffman crew. He is an old friend of Todd, which would explain why the latter decided to bring Dave on board to save his failing mining business.

For the next three years, Turin would try to steady the ship as best as he could, helping the Hoffman crew find thousands of ounces of gold in the process. The real turning point would come after Todd decided to take the team to Guyana.

After the mishaps that the trip wrought, Dave Turin finally opted to venture out on his own. He teamed up with Freddie Dodge to acquire and run a new claim back at the Klondike. As such, Dave was guaranteed 50% of the profits generated from this claim alone.