Richard Benjamin Harrison was an American businessman and reality TV personality who was best known as the co-owner of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop.
Early Life and Education:
He was born on March 14, 1941, in Danville, Virginia, USA. He was the son of Richard Harrison Sr. and Ruth Harrison and belonged to the Irish ethnicity. At the age of one, his family moved to Lexington, North Carolina. He held an American nationality and his star sign was Pisces.
Talking about his academics, he attended Lexington High School. However, he dropped out his junior as his family was poor. In order to support his family financially, Harrison drove a school bus at the age of fourteen. He parked the bus at his home and woke up early to pick up the children. Weekly he earned only five or six dollars.
Richard Harrison’s Professional Career:
Richard Harrison joined the United States Navy. He was found guilty of stealing a car and was given a choice to join the military or serve in the prison. Eventually, Harrison served in the military for twenty years. In 1967, the Navy transferred him to San Diego, California. His family relocated with him. In 1979, he retired from the navy and worked part-time at his wife’s office. Unfortunately, their business went down in 1981 and closed their office.
In April 1981, Harrison with his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. His son Rick opened Gold & Silver Pawn Shop at 1501 Las Vegas Boulevard. The most common item in the store is jewelry. As of July 2011, the shop had 12,000 items in inventory and 5,000 of them were held for the pawn. He with his son Rick Harrison and grandson Corey Harrison starred in the History reality TV show Pawn Stars.
Pawn Stars went on to become the highest-rated TV program on the History Channel and the second-highest reality TV show. In that same time, the average number of visitors in the shop rose from 70 to 700 a day, and by February 2012 each day about 3,000 to 5,000 visitors visited the store. Unfortunately, on June 25, 2018, he lost his battle to Parkinson’s disease and took his last breath.
Richard Harrison’s Personal Life:
Harrison met his future wife Joanne Rue at a barn dance when he was seventeen. The couple tied their knots in 1960. Together, they had one daughter Sherry who was born with down syndrome, and three sons Joseph, Rick, and Chris. Their daughter died when she was only six years old.
His wife was the daughter of a county judge and later one of the attorneys for Philip Morris in North Carolina, Joseph Rhue. After his transfer to San Diego, his wife obtained her real estate license in 1970 and opened her own office in 1973. After retiring, he worked part-time at his wife’s office till their business collapsed in 1981.
Richard Harrison’s Net Worth:
The famous businessman and TV personality Richard Harrison had a net worth of $8 Million as per the celebrity net worth. A majority of his revenue was made through his work at the pawnshop and his appearance in the reality TV show Pawn Stars. Harrison was a hard-working person who never took a sick leave till 2010. He has earned a lot for his future generations.
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