Why This GOLD RUSH Star Puts People Over Possessions

Published: November 26, 2024

Why This GOLD RUSH Star Puts People Over Possessions

By Movieguide® Contributor

GOLD RUSH star Parker Schnabel values experiences and people over possessions, despite having millions.

“I’m a big fan of really solid shared experiences and that’s probably where I spend the most money,” he told PEOPLE of putting moments over material items.

“I really haven’t [splurged]. I don’t even own a house except for the one on the mine site, so it’s quite the opposite. I’m living on a friend’s couch right now in LA. I’m not living here, but I’m just staying here for a few weeks. I don’t really spend much money on physical possessions or things like that.”

Schnabel found success as a gold miner on the reality show GOLD RUSH.

“Since its debut in 2010, the reality TV series has seen everything from fluctuating gold prices to relentless ambition, and families duking it out for the ultimate score,” Collider said of the show.

The 30-year-old shared how his life has changed since it started.

“I’ve had some great experiences. On Friday, I took my dad to a World Series game. So that kind of thing is — that’s a splurge to me. If I’m going to spend money, it’s on a trip with friends. I try to take our crew, the mining crew, on a trip every year and do fun things. We went on a big hunting trip one year, another year we went to Vegas for three days. I’m a big fan of really solid shared experiences and that’s probably where I spend the most money.”

In addition to experiences, Schnabel also values hard, honest work — a family trait.

“I grew up in a family where my great-grandpa came to Alaska, my grandma joined him in 1937, my dad was born up here and all three of them were carving a life from scratch,” he said. “So that’s what I grew up around. My dad is a very big influence in my life. He’s 69. He still gets up and goes to work every morning at 4:30 in the morning.”

GOLD RUSH has been airing for 15 years now, and its 15th season just started on Nov. 8.

In a post to Instagram, Schnabel shared video clips of his younger self from earlier seasons. He captioned in the post, “15 years on: Then vs Now. New season of #GoldRush starts TOMORROW 8p on @discovery and streaming @discoveryplus the next day.”