Mike Wolfe was born on 11th June 1964, in Joliet, Illinois USA. He rose to prominence as the creator and star of the television show “American Pickers” (2010 – present) aired on History Channel. He became widely known through the reality series, though he had been ‘picking’ since his childhood.
How rich is the antiques hunter? The creator of the expanding business empire, Mike Wolfe’s net worth is as high as $5 million. Aside from actually ‘picking’, the sources of his wealth are the television show, various endorsement deals, production lines, books and retail stores. Looks like someone can make money from scratch.
Mike Wolfe Net Worth $5 Million
Wolfe was raised in Joliet, Illinois together with his two siblings by their mother. Being just six years old, he began his picking career, looking for old bicycles and other old stuff which he found to be useful and valuable. This really was the start of his accumulation of net worth. Later, being an adult he founded an Antique Archaeology store in Nashville, Tennessee and later another one in Le Claire, Iowa in which people were able to buy or sell antique treasures.
This business became more popular after the reality television series “American Pickers” (2010 – present) was launched, created by Mike Wolfe himself and developed by Mark Poertner and Stephen Pettinger. The main star of the series is Wolfe who together with Frank Fritz travels around the USA looking for old but still valuable stuff. Afterwards, they sell antique findings or add them to their own collections. Another star of the series is Danielle Colby who is responsible for the stores. Meanwhile, co-star Frank Fritz sells their findings in his store in Savanna, Illinois as well as on the internet.
It is worth mentioning that Mike Wolfe is not only the main star and creator of the series, but also one of executive producers. Others are Charles Tremayne and Mark Poertner. The series attracts a huge audience as at the end of the first season it was watched by more than 5.4 million viewers. According to the ratings the series could rival only the “American Idol”, as even while debuting the series gathered more than 3.1 viewers, and was the highest rated debut aired on the History channel. No doubt, Mike Wolfe net worth significantly increased after the series was premiered.
As a result of the success other business branches were added. The online community named “Kid Pickers” was created. Children are able to share their own picking experiences as well as findings on the website. What is more, the books “American Pickers Guide to Picking” (2011) and “Kid Pickers” (2013) were published which contains guidance on picking for children with special needs.
In his personal life, Mike Wolfe married Jodi Faeth in 2012, and they have a daughter named Charlie Faeth Wolfe. It is important to highlight the fact that Mike works not only to benefit himself, but he does a lot as humanitarian, too. He is a constant host of various fund raising events on projects to help various animal shelters, the ASCPA, Operation Smile, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and others.
