| Net Worth | $5,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Mike Wolfe |
| Date of Birth/Age | June 11, 1964 (age 54) |
| Source of wealth | Singer, Songwriter |
| Height | 6’0” |
| Country of origin | U.S |
| State/City of origin | Joliet, Illinois |
| Last Updated | 2019 |
What is Mike Wolfe’s Net Worth?
Mike Wolfe’s net worth is $5 million.
How Did Mike Wolfe Make His Money?
He is a professional antiques reseller and star of the hugely successful TV reality show American Pickers. Since its debut on the History Channel, it has been one of the most-watched reality shows in TV history.
Wolfe is a true self-made millionaire who has been working hard since he was a teenager.
The show focuses on Wolfe’s specialty of “picking,” which involves finding diamonds in the rust of the antique business.
Wolfe scours the sheds, barns, storage units and abandoned homes of the country to find forgotten, trashed items that can be resold for a high price.
It also shows his rapport and work style with his longtime business partner Frank Fritz. The two have known each other since junior high school.
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Relationships
He has been married to Jodi Faeth since 2012. They have one daughter named Charlie Faeth Wolfe.
In 2004, Wolfe purchased a home in LeClaire, Iowa. It is a former 1860 boardinghouse and grocery store that has now been converted into a home and one of his Antique Archaeology stores. He paid $175,000 for it.
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Mike Wolfe Early Life
Wolfe has said in interviews that he always loved picking and selling. He said he flipped his first bicycle when he was six years old and he knew it was something he wanted to do as a profession.
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Early Pickings
Wolfe was raised by a single mother after his parents separated. They lived in Bettendorf, Iowa. He began his picking career as a way to make extra money and because he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt.
While his siblings and friends were out playing, he was scouting neighborhood garages and sheds for items that he could sell to antique stores. He even rescued old, tossed-out bicycles and lawn equipment that he cleaned up and sold to dealers.
Bikes and Motorcycles
Wolfe said that his first “picking” involved bicycles. He said he was astonished when he saw people throwing them away. He enjoyed riding bicycles because he always felt that he was uncoordinated at sports, while riding a bicycle gave him speed and power.
His love for bicycles led to the one detour he took from picking. From 1989 to the 1998, Wolfe was a competitive Category 4 and Category 3 bicycle racer.
During that time, he opened two bicycle shops in Iowa. He was able to finance the stores through his picking business. He used a large payoff that he got for selling a 1934 Harley Davidson motorcycle to a collector in Thailand.
Wolfe loved being around beautiful, high-quality bicycles, selling them and working on them. He enjoyed the camaraderie with other bicyclists. The bicycle shops did not manage to make enough profit, however.
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Back to Picking
Wolfe still had his picking business on the side, and he decided to focus on that. He sold the bicycle stores and went back on the road full-time.
Wolfe also liked motorcycles. When he was a teenager, he bought a motorcycle but had to hide it in a friend’s garage so that his mother wouldn’t see it.
He currently owns three motorcycles, including a vintage Indian. In 2016, he signed an endorsement deal with Indian motorcycles.
Road Trips and Stores
When he went back to full-time picking, Wolfe quickly made a name for himself as the go-to guy who could find untapped treasures in piles of junk.
He bought a cargo van to fit all his gear and began traveling around the country to increase his reach. Wolfe estimates that he put about 60,000 miles each year on his van.
He opened his store Antique Archeology in 2004 in LeClaire, Iowa. In 2011, he opened a second one in Nashville. The stores are still in operation. They sell all of the “rusty gold” that Wolfe picked up on his many miles of travel.
TV Comes Calling
Wolfe first began pitching the idea of a reality show based on his adventures in 2005. He approached several TV channels, but none seemed interested. Wolfe persisted, and in 2010 he was finally offered a reality deal with the History Channel.
The debut of American Pickers was a smash hit. With more than 5.4 million viewers during its first season, American Pickers was cable TV’s highest-rated nonfiction program of the year.
Still a Star
The show made Wolfe a household name. It is still on the air and still draws over 4 million viewers each episode.
In 2012, he created the spinoff show Kid Pickers. This is a natural spinoff, because Wolfe has often said that he got into picking early. He wanted to inspire other kids who were interested in starting their own picking business.
During the show, he often reminds the kids that the purpose of picking is to create a high income and have fun, not necessarily to become a TV star.
Musical Projects
In keeping with his love of vintages and antiques, Wolfe is a fan of Americana and old-style country music. He produced an album called Music to Pick By, which was still in production in 2019.
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Charity Work
Wolfe is a strong proponent of various charities. He has donated to various causes and hosted fundraising efforts for many organizations. These include St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Operation Smile, the ASCPA and local animal shelters in his community.
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Favorite Quotes From Mike Wolfe
“Everything has an expiration date. I’m a realist. Do I think I’m Pickin’ Jesus? No. That’s ridiculous.”
“I was 13 when I saw my first motorcycle. I was walking down the sidewalk when this guy who was like the high school champion stud, he was the team quarterback, got all the chicks, everything, well, he did this incredible burnout on his Honda 900. I can remember the day so clearly, how warm it was, and him looking at me as I walked by. I thought, ‘Oh, man. That is the coolest thing in the world.’ That’s what started me on my journey of wanting a motorcycle.”
“The landscape of the country has changed with manufacturing, a lot of things that were made here aren’t anymore, so it’s kind of like walking down memory lane for the viewers and for us in regards to what used to be manufactured here. Frank and I are both car guys, transportation guys. We’ve always appreciated a past as far as the automotive industry and the motorcycle industry, so we feel proud with every story that we tell.”
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Mike Wolfe Success Tips
- “I’m a businessman, so I’m gonna make hay while the sun’s shining. I’ve been self-employed for 23 years. That’s an accomplishment in itself. You gotta be out there hustling. If you’re not, you’re not gonna make it.”
