Old Man was always a popular figure on Pawn Stars. But after Richard Harrison passed away in June 2018, another side of him became strangely clear.
Richard cut one of his sons out of his will. But who was it? And how much did Old Man leave behind?
Listen closely because the shocking truth about Old Man’s estate has been exposed. Entertainment Weekly published an unbelievable article a couple of weeks after Richard passed away.
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It said: “Richard Harrison, the ‘Old Man’ from Pawn Stars, cuts son out of his will.” Of course, everyone initially assumed that the son in question was Rick.
But The Blast got a sneak peek at Old Man’s last will and testament. They found out that Christoper Harrison—Richard’s youngest son—got kicked out of his will. But shockingly, it wasn’t always that way.
Las Vegas County court records showed that Richard’s original will had four beneficiaries: his wife, JoAnne Rhue, and his sons, Joseph, Rick, and Christopher. A year before Richard passed, he changed his will and removed Christopher as a beneficiary of his estate.
Richard also seemed to want to set the record straight on why. He explained what other people might think was a cold-hearted move—kicking his youngest kid out of his will.
Richard stated in his will, “I would like to express my love and affection for Christopher Keith Harrison; however, for the purposes of this Will, I have intentionally and with full knowledge failed to provide for him and his issue.” That’s crazy, but it also raises a huge question—what on Earth did Richard mean by Christopher’s “issue?”
The Family Wants to Keep the Matter Private
Entertainment Weekly claimed that it “wasn’t clear” why Christopher got cut out of the will. But that didn’t satisfy everyone looking for some scandalous gossip.
Even local news stations began digging around for answers, including KIRO 7 News in Seattle. KIRO 7 News reported on a statement released to USA Today by the Harrison family.
Laura Herlovich served as a PR representative for Rick, his mom, and his siblings. She released the statement to the media on Rick’s behalf.
In the statement, Rick claimed that Christopher’s exclusion from Richard’s will would not become public information. The statement read, in part, “The family had previously discussed this information, and it is a private matter.”
Investigative reporters from the Las Vegas Review-Journal know the Pawn Stars family pretty well. They managed to get a quote on the ‘Christoper situation’ from one member of the Harrison family.
Don’t hold your breath because Rick’s son, Corey Harrison, sounded pretty clueless with his side of the story. Corey told the Review-Journal that he “always tried to stay out of this kinda stuff.” He was referring to the details of Richard’s last will and testament.
When the Review-Journal pressed Corey for any insider info, he claimed he hadn’t seen his Uncle Christopher in 20 years. Corey added, “I was in junior high back then.”
One of Richard’s Sons Was in a Violent Biker Gang
The internet has been trying to get answers on this “private matter” for years, and interest in a potential family scandal has continued to grow. A Pawn Stars Subreddit began a thread on Christopher getting cut out of Richard’s will.
One commenter assumed that the “issue” had to do with a dependence on substances and Richard not wanting to “fund” his son’s problem. No one else on the subreddit even knew who Christopher was—and somebody asked: “Is this the biker gang son??”
A decade ago, TMZ reported something crazy about Richard’s “biker gang son.” But was it really Christopher?
TMZ alleged that a “violent biker gang tricked Richard.” They claimed that “Richard’s son” was the one who gave them the hot tip.
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However, TMZ was talking about Rick, who’d tipped them off about the notorious Vagos motorcycle gang in Vegas getting Richard to throw a party at his house, including raffle tickets to win prizes. Allegedly, a scam went down because the raffle proceeds were used to hire lawyers for gang members in serious trouble with the law.
Rick also threw shade at his brother—but it wasn’t Christopher. Rick’s older brother, Joseph, was a member of the Vagos biker gang.
According to TMZ, Joseph had a “big time” criminal rap sheet. If Joseph was a biker gang member with a criminal record—and he was still in Richard’s will—it just makes the mystery of Christopher getting kicked out even crazier.
What’s just as crazy is how much Richard left behind in his estate. After Rick announced on social media that Richard had lost “a long battle with Parkinson’s” disease at the age of 77, sources with inside knowledge claimed that Richard left a lot of wealth behind.
The Main Cast Had Net Worth’s in the Millions
The Sun alleged that Richard had a net worth of around $5 million when he passed away. In comparison, Rick was believed to be worth $8 million in the same year.
However, another website, Celebrity Net Worth, claimed a different side to the story. The website said that Richard made $15,000 per episode of Pawn Stars and alleged that his net worth was also in the $8 million range in 2014.
Celebrity Net Worth also spilled the tea on what Corey and Chumlee were bringing in a decade ago on Pawn Stars. They listed Corey by his full name and nickname of “Big Hoss,” claiming that he was worth around $2.5 million at the time.
Celebrity Net Worth revealed insider information on the behind-the-scenes tension between Rick and Corey on Pawn Stars. Long-time viewers will probably remember that Corey threatened to quit working at the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop if his dad didn’t make him a part owner. Allegedly, Rick ended up giving Corey ownership equity in the pawn shop.
Celebrity Net Worth claimed that Corey had 5% ownership of the business a decade ago. It’s safe to assume that Corey’s net worth has increased since then.
He was already charging thousands of dollars for “personal appearances.” He is also allegedly involved with “merchandising opportunities” related to the Pawn Stars brand.
The insider information on Chumlee is even crazier. Celebrity Net Worth stated his real name is Austin Russell. When they published their report, Chumlee was supposedly making $25,000 per episode off of Pawn Stars.
Chumlee Wasn’t Always Called That
Did you know how Chumlee got his nickname? Some viewers assumed that Richard started calling Chumlee that, but Celebrity Net Worth claimed that Austin’s dad nicknamed him after an animated walrus named “Chumley” on the cartoon show Tennessee Tuxedo.
Insiders claim that Corey and Chumlee were best friends from childhood, and Corey allegedly got Chumlee a job at the pawn shop when he was 21. Many viewers were disappointed to visit Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Vegas during the Pawn Stars years and not see Chumlee doing crazy antics behind the counter like he always did on the show.
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Inside sources allege that the main cast of Pawn Stars never worked the counter in real life. Due to privacy laws in Nevada, they only did that to film the show.
However, Celebrity Net Worth did report that Chumlee hired a “personal assistant” after he became famous on Pawn Stars, and this assistant apparently stayed busy managing Chumlee’s “outside business opportunities.” If you need further proof that Chumlee is making bank, he also spilled some personal tea to the media in Las Vegas when he announced he was “happy” to treat a girlfriend to chest enhancement surgery as a birthday present!
