Gold Rush's Parker Schnabel Reveals What He 'Splurges' on with His Mining Millions (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Parker Schnabel posing in front of hopper feeder conveyor.Photo:Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel

Parker Schnabelenjoys living a simple life.TheGold Rushstar spoke with PEOPLE about what his life is like as a successful gold miner — and reality television star — at just 30 years old. Thinking back on the biggest splurge he has made with his millions, he says not much comes to mind.“I really haven’t [splurged],” he admits. “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.”Parker Schnabel of Gold Rush is pictured.Discovery ChannelFor Schnabel, the biggest perk of success is his ability to bring people together. As an “experience-based person,” he says most of his big expenditures are activities with loved ones.“I’ve had some great experiences,” he shares. “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.”“Of course, at work, I’m a very big spender,” he jokes. “They take the credit card away from me quite often.”Schnabel says family is very important to him and credits them for much of his success. He says he has watched them work hard since he was a little kid and that’s where he gets his strong work ethic.“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 explains. “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.”Parker Schnabel of Gold Rush is pictured.Discovery CommunicationsReflecting on his best memories growing up, Schnabel recalls one summer before he was onGold Rushthat he spent a summer at the mine site with his grandfather.“He cooked dinner for me every night,” Schnabel remembers. “Every night we would sit down and he spent basically, he had an unreal memory, so over the course of three months, just gave me a complete history from the first memory he could remember to present day.”“Sometimes it was a year or two years in one night, and sometimes it would take a week to get through a couple of days,” he says. “It was one of the most special things. Unfortunately, it was all just verbal, no record of it at all. That’s probably one of my biggest regrets. It was a really special time that him and I got very close during that.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Gold Rushairs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on the Discovery Channel, with the full series streaming on Max.

Parker Schnabelenjoys living a simple life.

TheGold Rushstar spoke with PEOPLE about what his life is like as a successful gold miner — and reality television star — at just 30 years old. Thinking back on the biggest splurge he has made with his millions, he says not much comes to mind.

“I really haven’t [splurged],” he admits. “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.”

Parker Schnabel of Gold Rush is pictured.Discovery Channel

For Schnabel, the biggest perk of success is his ability to bring people together. As an “experience-based person,” he says most of his big expenditures are activities with loved ones.

“I’ve had some great experiences,” he shares. “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.”

“Of course, at work, I’m a very big spender,” he jokes. “They take the credit card away from me quite often.”

Schnabel says family is very important to him and credits them for much of his success. He says he has watched them work hard since he was a little kid and that’s where he gets his strong work ethic.

“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 explains. “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.”

Parker Schnabel of Gold Rush is pictured.Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications

Reflecting on his best memories growing up, Schnabel recalls one summer before he was onGold Rushthat he spent a summer at the mine site with his grandfather.

“He cooked dinner for me every night,” Schnabel remembers. “Every night we would sit down and he spent basically, he had an unreal memory, so over the course of three months, just gave me a complete history from the first memory he could remember to present day.”

“Sometimes it was a year or two years in one night, and sometimes it would take a week to get through a couple of days,” he says. “It was one of the most special things. Unfortunately, it was all just verbal, no record of it at all. That’s probably one of my biggest regrets. It was a really special time that him and I got very close during that.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Gold Rushairs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on the Discovery Channel, with the full series streaming on Max.

source: people.com